Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Today, our writers share the games they’ve been playing over the last month. Feel free to share what you’ve been playing, because we’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get things started.
Kyra’s Games
Kyra’s Video Games
Slime Rancher 2 received a full release this past week, so I’ve returned to Rainbow Island. First, I’m overjoyed with the return of drones. This must be a relatively new addition to Slime Rancher 2. While I appreciate the ability to quickly accrue more drones in the original Slime Rancher, even the smaller number of drones makes managing your ranch a lot easier. I started a new game and refuse to build up a second or third location (even though I’ve purchased them) before I have enough resources to build another drone to help me manage my cutie slimes. Slime Rancher 2 is addictive.
Balatro is a fabulous rogue-like poker deck-building game akin to Slay of the Spire. It has all the trappings of an addictive game, and I sunk plenty of hours into Balatro this past month. In short, there’s a reason Balatro is one of the highest-rated games on Steam. But I do have one gripe. There may be too many options. Balatro shares this issue with Auto Chess. Balatro requires players to balance Planet cards (upgrading the point value for Poker hands), Joker cards (giving a constant point-value boost), and the cards in the deck. Certain combos require specific cards, and Balatro’s staggering number of options means you may never see the cards you need for a combo. Despite this minor issue, I love Balatro.
Speaking of Auto Chess, I’ve played plenty of Auto Chess over the past month, too. The issue I listed in my Balatro write-up rears its head here, but certain game modes (like Solo mode) in Auto Chess allow players to limit the type of units they will receive from the bank. Unfortunately, I don’t care for Solo mode. It’s too slow for my taste. Auto Chess has players buy units, upgrade those units by purchasing three of the same unit, and combo units together with like species (like elves, dwarves, and undead) and classes (like Hunter, Warrior, and Mage). And this last feature introduces yet another issue: balance.
Not all combos are created equal. You can have up to 10 units (if you buy experience to increase your unit count) on the field at one time. Some of the synergies (combos) can be as high as 9 units of the same type. These 9-unit synergies can be overpowered, specifically undead (named Egersis in Auto Chess). A 9-unit undead synergy has an opponent’s dead units resurrect into zombies of the same level. This can double your unit count during battle. It’s unfair and unfun. I’ve played as Egersis, and it’s unfun to play with these unit types. Despite this added issue, Auto Chess is a lot of fun, so long as no one in the lobby plays Egersis. I love setting up my army, leaving for a while to do something else, and then managing my team in between rounds. Heck, I’ll read while my units take care of business.
Kyra’s Board Games
Skye’s going to mention Raccoon Tycoon in her write-up; I’ll let her go into more detail about the game. I love Raccoon Tycoon’s variable market, dual-purpose cards, and auction system. Each card a player uses will increase a resource’s value (or resources’ values) and allow the player to produce resources. Whenever a player sells a resource, they do so at the resource’s current value, and then the player lowers the resource’s value by the amount of those resources sold. And the auction system is simple but great. You can drive up the price of a railroad your opponent wants, but if you raise the price too much, you may get stuck with the railroad. Raccoon Tycoon is a ton of fun.
I’ll be running Raccoon Tycoon and Flamecraft for a charity event during Nuke-Con in two days, so I played both to remind myself how to play so I can teach each game. If you’re in the Omaha area this weekend, feel free to stop by my table. Anyway, Flamecraft is a game Season will mention in her write-up this week, but I’m including it. It’s a great gateway game. Flamecraft features enough common game mechanisms in modern board gaming, while introducing them in a lighthearted, easy-to-understand manner. And the art is adorable. Who doesn’t want to make artisanal crafts with cute dragons?
And yes, I will be playtesting and demoing my prototypes at Nuke-Con as well. Rustbucket Riots and Whirligig Pets are on the official schedule, but I’ll bring a few other board and card games I’m working on. If you’re going to Nuke-Con, make sure you stop by the Extra Life tables and say hi. We’ll have badge ribbons and prizes.
That’s all I have for the games I’ve played this past month. Let’s see what Skye has been playing.
Skye’s Games
Skye’s Board Games
Who wants to be an entrepreneur, trash panda? I do. Now you can live out your dream with your friends and family in Racoon Tycoon. I played Racoon Tycoon for the first time and really enjoyed it. The straightforward mechanics, simple gameplay and charming theme make Racoon Tycoon a game that I’d happily return to. Like most games I play for the first time, I sucked, but that doesn’t matter. I may have lost the battle, but the animal economy war has only just begun. Walrus St. isn’t ready for this determined ring-tailed faux cat.
Ah, the wonders of being eaten by a shark. That’s Get Bit’s scenario. Get Bit is easy enough to understand. Don’t get eaten, and you win. The gameplay itself is different than what I was expecting. The goal is to stay as far away from the shark as possible (duh), but you accomplish this by playing cards that are numbered 1 through 7. The person who played the lowest card gets to move the farthest away first, followed by the next lowest card, and so on. Get Bit is a bit odd, but there are fair amounts of strategy and luck involved to keep you on the edge of your seat. Just make sure you sort out your least-favorite limbs ahead of time.
This month was the most fun I’ve had with Formula D in a while. We played Formula D with a large group of people, and it was a completely different experience. When I’ve played Formula D in the past, I’ve only played with 2 or 3 other people at most. With 8 players, we were cracking jokes, being ridiculous, and generally having a good time. The only downside was that the game took much longer than usual because of the number of players. I was so into Formula D, my car and I went to sleep with the fish. It was relaxing.
Skye’s Video Game
Speaking of relaxing, Sudoku never fails to make me chill out and vibe. I don’t always play Sudoku regularly; I came across a puzzle in my local library that I’ve felt compelled to play online puzzles again. Sometimes I’ll get the urge to test my brain power, and Sudoku has been my go-to. Honestly, there isn’t much to say about it. It’s Sudoku. Y’all know what I mean.
Season’s Games
season’s board games
Of course, I’m mentioning Flamecraft. I won’t go into too much detail, so here’s a quick overview. Your goal is to fill shops with dragons who produce resources. You use the resources to create enchantments and gain reputation. Many different dragon effects affect your score, and the game ends when you’ve run out of dragons. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed this game until it hit the table last Monday.
I’m a certified dragon lover, and the small dragons in Flamecraft are adorable. ‘Nuff said.
Broken and Beautiful is a set collection game. However, it has a unique way of increasing your score–if you play it correctly. Broken and Beautiful’s theme is based on kintsugi, a Japanese art form of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with gold, silver, or platinum. It makes the object useful again while highlighting its imperfections to celebrate them. In Broken and Beautiful, players draft cards from a tableau using the snake draft method (starting with the first player and reversing player order after the last player). They try to collect sets of pottery based on type (sometimes pattern). The remaining card that doesn’t get drafted and the card on the top of the deck dictate which types of pottery break at the end of the round. Players can spend gold to fix their broken pottery and generate more points.
Normally, I’m not a huge fan of card drafting set collection games since I rarely feel the theme of the game. As in, if I play Sushi Go!, I don’t feel like I’m making a plate of sushi. In Broken and Beautiful, the theme of kintsugi is more evident to me. I also enjoyed the extra layer of strategy in Broken and Beautiful.
season’s video games
I’ve been playing a lot of Cell to Singularity on my phone. I love learning, and I enjoy idle games. That’s exactly what Cell to Singularity is. You start with discovering amino acids and work your way through evolution. The premise revolves around the game being a simulation of evolution, so some what-ifs about evolution crop up the further you progress. There are also offshoot simulations. The two permanent ones are Mesozoic Valley (dinosaurs) and Beyond (outer space). Every few days, limited simulations are available to play, too. I’ve just finished learning way more about mushrooms than I ever planned to learn. Worth it.
I go in and out of playing Ark: Survival Evolved. No. I don’t have Ark: Survival Ascended. I don’t think my PC can run it. Eh-heh. I enjoy taming my favorite creatures and building different bases every time I play. I have a few mods to spice things up. There are many fun, player-made maps to play on, and unique creatures, too. There are also mods that improve quality-of-life and let players build things that aren’t part of vanilla Ark: Survival Evolved. There’s no better feeling in Ark: Survival Evolved than starting a new game and seeing what happens.
Don’t forget to swing by Nuke-Con this weekend at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, IA, and visit Kyra at the Extra Life booth. They’d love to meet you. What are you playing this week, Geekly Gang? Let us know in the comments.
Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. The MCU has a history of making short films (One-Shots) that would tie into feature-length films. These One-Shots differ from Marvel Specials like Werewolf By Night. Typically, One-Shots last between five and fifteen minutes, so one could watch all the Marvel One-Shots in the time it would take to watch Werewolf By Night. Originally airing from 2011-2014, Marvel One-Shots were included as bonus features on MCU Blu-ray and DVDs. A couple of these One-Shots would inspire television shows. Geekly has never ranked MCU One-Shots. Let’s change that.
6-8) Team Thor Parts One & Two and Team Darryl (2016-2017)
There’s some debate as to whether Team Thor Parts One and Two and Team Darryl qualify as Marvel One-Shots. All three shorts were released after 2014, two years after the MCU officially said Marvel One-Shots aired, so I’m guessing they don’t count, which works for me. All three of these One-Shots are five-minute comedy routines with Thor or the Grandmaster adapting to life on Earth with a human named Darryl. People’s mileage with these jokes may vary, but all three are okay at best and groan worthy at worst.
I prefer the first one (Team Thor Part One) because it came first, and all three shorts use the same type of jokes, so they get progressively less funny. Should we call these three One-Shots honorable mentions?
5) The Consultant (September 13, 2011)
The Consultant is a strong Marvel One-Shot. While seated at a diner, Agents Coulson and Sitwell discuss how they intend to prevent General Ross from freeing his friend, Emil Blonsky (The Abomination from The Incredible Hulk). Sitwell suggests that he could be a patsy and sabotage General Ross’s plot to free Blonsky, and then Coulson counters by sending in someone to irritate Ross so much that he’ll flub the assignment. Sitwell suggests the titular “Consultant” (or Tony Stark), and eventually, Ross and Stark share an uncomfortable exchange. Mission accomplished.
Interesting tidbit: Coulson and Sitwell subtly hint at a future MCU plot point. When Coulson first talks about “the mission,” he doesn’t reveal everything he knows about the situation. Sitwell states he has Level Six Clearance and that there is no such thing as Level Seven Clearance. When Coulson returns after the events of The Avengers and sets up the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. television series, he reveals that he’s alive again and says, “Welcome to Level Seven Clearance.”
4) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer (October 25, 2011)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer edges out The Consultant because it uses straightforward storytelling. Set before the events of Thor, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer begins with Agent Coulson stopping for gas. A stick-up takes place, and Agent Coulson defuses the situation. Actually, he turns into full-on John Wick and knocks out the armed robbers. Afterwards, he pays for his snacks and advises the store clerk not to tell the police he was there. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer shows Agent Coulson in a different light. He’s more than a pencil pusher at S.H.I.E.L.D., and this sequence was a sign of things to come.
3) All Hail The King (February 4, 2014)
Before making this list, I thought All Hail The King would land at number one, but there are two other Marvel One-Shots that edge out this much-needed retcon for Iron Man’s nemesis, The Mandarin. Ben Kingsley reprises his role as Trevor Slattery. Because of his role in Iron Man 3, Slattery is locked up in Seagate Prison. But it turns out that Slattery has a fan club and a butler named Herman, so Trevor isn’t exactly doing hard time.
Documentary filmmaker Jackson Norriss chronicles Slattery’s life, but he’s not all he appears to be. During his interview, Norriss takes out a hidden gun (from his camera), shoots all the guards, and Slattery’s butler. In classic Slattery fashion, he begs Norriss not to kill him. Norriss reveals that he’s breaking Slattery out of prison. The one whose name Slattery stole (the Mandarin) will have the honor of killing the cheesy actor.
I like that All Hail The King improves the Mandarin’s origin from Iron Man 3. All Hail The King has more than one call-back from the Iron Man franchise. During a mid-credits scene, Justin Hammer scoffs at Slattery’s performance in the prison cafeteria. Hammer wonders what makes Slattery so special. What indeed, Hammer. What indeed.
2) Item 47 (September 25, 2012)
Item 47 centers on a couple just scraping by, Bennie and Claire, who find a functional Chitauri gun. Using the alien technology, the pair go on a bank-robbing spree until Agent Sitwell of S.H.I.E.L.D. tracks them down. Instead of pressing charges, Sitwell recruits the pair into S.H.I.E.L.D. Item 47 features another straightforward plot, but where this One-Shot shines is its character development. You get a sense of who Bennie and Claire are and a seldom-seen glimpse at what “normal people” experience in a world dominated by superheroes and supervillains.
Item 47’s story arc laid the foundation for the Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and it indirectly began the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. I knew Item 47 would rank high on this list. I had forgotten how influential Item 47 was to the MCU. It may take the top spot for most influential Marvel One-Shot, but one short just narrowly beats it for number one.
1) Agent Carter (September 3, 2013)
Hayley Atwell reprises her role as Peggy Carter (Steve Rogers’ love interest in the original Captain America) in Agent Carter. This is another Marvel One-Shot that started a television show, this time of the same name. To be fair, Marvel had intended to produce an Agent Carter television show. The Agent Carter One-Shot’s popularity sealed the deal.
I’ll be honest. I forgot the Agent Carter One-Shot existed. It does a great job of showing Peggy Carter navigating the loss of Steve Rogers and a hostile work environment filled with misogynists. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s early days were no picnic for a woman secret agent. Peggy single-handedly takes on an important, time-sensitive mission that S.H.I.E.L.D. believes is a 3-5 agent job. At first, the job seems routine, but things take a turn for the worse when she encounters Zodiac.
By Agent Carter’s end, Peggy is one of the few running S.H.I.E.L.D. with Howard Stark. Agent Carter features over-the-top action and campy set designs. It reminds me of a comic strip from the 1940s or 50s. It claims our top spot because it allows Peggy Carter to escape Captain America’s shadow. And it’s fun.
So, that’s our list. How would you rank the Marvel One-Shots? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. Today marks the third Geekly Casting post we’ve made with the new format, and the movie we’re casting today is the upcoming live-action Legend of Zelda movie. We almost have another two years before this movie releases in theaters, but that doesn’t mean we can’t speculate who should play each role. As usual, I’ll kick off this post with modern actors, and then Skye will step in with some historical actors for a dream casting. Feel free to share who you think should portray the characters in the upcoming live-action Legend of Zelda movie.
The Legend of Zelda doesn’t have as many recurring characters as other video game franchises, but we’ll need to set up a few ground rules before determining which roles to cast. Namely, which Legend of Zelda games will comprise the characters for the movie’s script?
Our resident movie geek, Skye, who has also happened to play most Legend of Zelda games, and I narrowed the games to Ocarina of Time and Breath of the Wild. Most moviegoers will know Breath of the Wild (along with Tears of the Kingdom, Breath of the Wild is the most recent Zelda video game duology), while Ocarina of Time is one of the first classic Zelda games that added a healthy dose of mythology. Both are stellar games. We couldn’t decide on one over the other, but the Legend of Zelda movie could pull from more than one video game. Let’s merge Ocarina of Time and Breath of the Wild.
Note: Kyra Kyle wrote their segment well before the official Legend of Zelda movie cast its Link and Zelda. They chose to keep their original actors in their roles instead of listing who got cast. Oh. What could’ve been?
Young Adult Link: Morgan Davies
Morgan Davies is a young actor with many high-profile roles in his short career. Danny from Evil Dead Rise and Koby from the Netflix live-action One Piece series top his resume. With his experience, Morgan Davies should have no problem pulling off a twenty-something Link. It doesn’t matter if the Legend of Zelda’s director chooses for Link to be a silent protagonist (like early-era Zelda games) or if Link will have a speaking role. Davies has the talent and the look for Link. He also pairs well (in age) with who I have planned for Princess Zelda.
I know. I know. Morgan Davies is one half of the Link/Zelda meme that’s going around, and I’m going with the other half, too. This pairing is too perfect.
Princess Zelda: Hunter Schafer
Yes! I went with Hunter Schafer as Princess Zelda. She looks just like her. I couldn’t believe those were her actual ears. I love it. Schafer also has a small but impressive experience. Tigris Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and Jules Vaughn in Euphoria top her resume. She’s an actress with the ability and the look to pull off the title character, Princess Zelda. I don’t care if Hunter Schafer as Princess Zelda is a meme at this point. Schafer, in this role, makes too much sense. Make this happen, Nintendo.
Ganon/Ganondorf: Sterling K. Brown
I cast Sterling K. Brown in a lot of different roles. That’s because the This Is Us actor is phenomenal, and I’d love to see him in just about anything. Sterling K. Brown will bring a layered approach to the role of Ganon or Ganondorf (depending on which Legend of Zelda story the movie chooses). My fear is that Ganon could be boiled down to a cardboard cutout villain. Sterling K. Brown wouldn’t let that happen. He’d give us a Ganon performance for the ages.
Young Link: Christian Convery
I’m including Christian Convery as Young Link because the main game mechanism in Ocarina of Time is that Link goes back to when he’s a child. We may need a Young Link. Christian Convery (star of the Netflix series Sweet Tooth) looks like a young Morgan Davies and could hold his own as an actor, but he could age out of the role. Young Link is definitely one of those roles you could cast an unknown.
Impa: Michelle Yeoh
The incomparable Michelle Yeoh would make a great Impa at any age. Impa is one of those characters whose age varies greatly from one Legend of Zelda game to the next. Everything, Everywhere, All at Once’s Yeoh has had plenty of experience portraying action roles (at various ages) and has the acting chops to pull off one of Princess Zelda’s loyal protectors. My only doubt in casting Yeoh as Impa is that it could be seen as typecasting. But I love Impa as a character, and Yeoh would be fantastic in this role.
Saria: Maisie Williams
Saria is one of the first sages Link meets during Ocarina of Time. She’s even the sage who presents Link with his very own fairy, Navi. More on Navi in a minute. Maisie Williams has plenty of history acting in a fantasy setting. See her work as Arya in Game of Thrones. Williams has a knack for playing characters who defy social norms. Saria is the only sage to stand up for Link when Mido spread rumors that Link was responsible for the Great Deku Tree’s death. Saria is added in sealing away Ganon during the Ocarina of Time’s finale.
Navi: Awkwafina
I’m doing this one for the LOLs. Many argue that Awkwafina gets cast as a voice actor far too often. In fact, she was in ten animated movies or television shows in two years. Some people claim that Awkwafina getting cast in yet another voice acting role would be so annoying. Enter Navi, one of the most annoying characters in video game history. Hey! Listen! Can you hear Awkwafina screaming, Hey, Listen over and over again? I can. It’s hilarious.
Skull Kid: Elliot Page
There’s a debate as to whether Skull Kid makes an appearance in Ocarina of Time or not. Even if you believe Skull Kid doesn’t appear in Ocarina of Time, you can always tease the antagonist of a future Zelda movie by giving Skull Kid (the main antagonist during the events of Majora’s Mask) a cameo. Over his long, illustrious career, we haven’t seen Elliot Page portray too many villains. Page could make for a great dark and twisted version of Link.
Riju: Lana Condor
Lana Condor made her acting debut as Jubilee in the X-Men film franchise, but she gained international stardom with the All the Boys series. Despite Riju being one of the youngest leaders in Breath of the Wild, she rules with kindness and wisdom beyond her years. Lana Condor has built a solid resume that shows her versatility. She’ll need to tap into all of that experience while playing Riju.
Mipha: Auli’i Cravalho
Mipha rules a tribe of half-human, half-dolphin species. Reserved and introverted, Mipha is fiercely loyal to her friends, especially Link. In fact, during events in Breath of the Wild, Mipha insists that she and Link schedule some one-on-one time after the final battle. Auli’i Cravalho got her big break as the voice actor behind Moana. She’s kept busy in Hollywood and Broadway as a triple-threat (acting, singing, and dancing). Cravlho could easily pull off the strong but kind Mipha.
Revali: Dan Levy
Humanoid bird Revali will be full CGI, so it doesn’t matter if the actor portraying him looks similar to the character. Revali’s temperament is more in play. The champion of the Rito tribe is arrogant and has a sardonic outward personality, especially when he’s around Link. Dan Levy could easily pull off such a character, and he gets extra points because Revali looks like he’s a fully transformed version of Moira Rose’s (Catherine O’Hara’s) role in The Crowening, which is a reference to Dan Levy’s television mother in Schitt’s Creek.
Prince Sidon: Lamorne Morris
Lamorne Morris may be too old to portray Prince Sidon, but this role will use heavy CGI. That means that it matters if Morris’s vibe matches Sidon. The prince of the Zora people is enthusiastic and sees the sunny side of situations. That reminds me of Morris’s character on New Girl. He brings energy to all of his roles and would make a fantastic Prince Sidon.
Urbosa: Laverne Cox
Champion of the Gerudo, Urbosa is an imposing figure. Tall, slender, and muscular, Urbosa’s frame doesn’t match her personality. She’s a gentle and kind leader who only uses her strength and combat prowess when needed. Orange is the New Blacks’ Laverne Cox would make a perfect Urbosa. Laverne Cox deserves to be in more franchises. Watching her act opposite Sterling K. Brown’s Ganon would be a joy.
That’s all I have for my Legend of Zelda casting. Let’s see what Skye has in store.
Skye’s Picks
The choices I made for this casting call were my trickiest yet. In the past, the roles I’ve cast have been well-developed with complex backstories and personalities. For The Legend of Zelda, the characters aren’t “people” so much as “archetypes.” Not that I dislike these characters, but being a symbol as opposed to a person makes it harder for me to find people to fill these roles. I’m happy with the choices I made, but wow. I spent way longer on this than any sane person should have. Either way, these are my choices.
Link: Josh Hutcherson
Link was the last role I filled. It took me a while to figure out who could be both young enough and old enough to pull off Link’s look while having enough acting experience for a non-speaking role. In the end, Josh Hutcherson felt like a good choice. He’s been acting since he was a child and at an age where he can pass as a young adult. That’s perfect for Link. Also, if the filmmakers decided to keep Link mute, Hutcherson has the expressions and body language to come across as strong and stoic.
Zelda: Hunter Schafer
Zelda was the easiest role for me to cast. I had heard talk online about the possibility of Hunter Schafer playing Zelda, and I was on board as soon as I saw her. Just look at her. That’s not an actress playing Zelda, that’s literally Zelda. Case closed. I knew that Kyra Kyle was going to choose her for this role as well, so I spent a while considering who else I thought could fit this role. In the end, I just couldn’t find anyone. Hunter Schafer is living proof of the existence of the Goddess Hylia.
Ganon/Ganondorf: Alan Rickman (Posthumously)
Ganon was an interesting role to cast. I’m unsure which version of Zelda the film will be based on, but Alan Rickman could’ve made a great Ganon in more ways than one. If they’re going for a ruthless monster, Alan Rickman could’ve done it. If they’re going for a sly, calculating Ganondorf, Alan Rickman would’ve been amazing. In more ways than one, Alan Rickman could’ve given us a layered and interesting villain with his interpretation of Ganon/Ganondorf. Unfortunately, we’ll never see it. Rest in peace.
Young Link: (Young) Haley Joel Osment
Haley Joel Osment was the go-to child actor back in the 90s. He had loads of experience as a young actor. Given that, I don’t think he ever did a non-speaking role, so the possibility of Haley Joel Osment as Young Link could’ve been attention-getting. To me, he exudes the energy of having a lot of potential, hidden wisdom, and a good heart, which is exactly what you want for Young Link. Can I live in the timeline where Haley Joel Osment plays Young Link?
Impa: Uma Thurman
Impa has been portrayed in a variety of different ways in the Zelda series. If the filmmakers decide to go the route of Ocarina of Time, Uma Thurman would be a great Impa. Given her experience in several movie roles over her prolific career, Thurman could easily pass as the attendant/protector/guide of Princess Zelda. With Thurman’s expertise as a character actress, I have no doubt she could pull off a wise, measured, and strong character like Impa.
Saria: Mara Wilson
Mara Wilson is yet another prolific 90s child actor. I’m not going to act like every role she had in her heyday was great, but Wilson brought a Saria-esque energy to each of them. Although I have more confidence that she could play Saria now than before. Since The Legend of Zelda’s story is constantly in flux, I’m sure the writers could find an excuse for Saria to be older than she originally appeared in Ocarina of Time. That’s what I like about Zelda. Just look at that side-by-side. Need I say more?
Navi: Tress MacNeille
Speaking of having fun with things, Navi was my favorite role to cast. After hearing Kyra Kyle’s choice for the role, I thought it made a lot of sense. I gave it some thought, and I feel like I found another comedically inclined actress. Putting Tress MacNeille’s experience aside, she has the comedic chops and vocals to add a much-needed sense of levity to the film. While Navi is known for her pesky nature, Tress MacNeille could be a great balance of funny, annoying, and lovable.
Skull Kid: (Young) Jim Carrey
On the surface, I think it’s unlikely for the filmmakers to go the Majora’s Mask route. It’s a bit too niche of a Zelda title and not emblematic of the whole series. However, a young Jim Carrey would make a great Skull Kid if they did. Since Skull Kid’s face is rarely shown, much of his personality would come through his physicality, and that screams young Jim Carrey to me. He could pull off a combination of funny, mischievous, creepy, and dramatic all in one role. Also, the fact he’d be wearing a mask would be a fun in-joke to his 1994 film, The Mask.
Riju: Naomi Scott
I don’t care for the 2019 Aladdin. Who does? However, Naomi Scott as Jasmine is a notable strength of the film. Scott showed dedication to her craft despite a lack of script support, and making her Riju in The Legend of Zelda movie could give her a real chance to shine. Riju, as the chieftain of the Gerudo Tribe, has a fearless disposition and commands authority. Since Riju recently became chieftain, Naomi Scott could convey that, despite her inexperience, Riju is trying her best.
Mipha: Tami Stronach
It’s been a minute since I’ve played Breath of the Wild and, by proxy, seen what Mipha looks like. After I saw images of her, I couldn’t get the thought of The Child-Like Empress from NeverEnding Story out of my head. So, I’m going with Tami Stronach as Mipha. As time has passed, Stronach has accepted more producing roles, but she does act here and there. Since she defined what royalty looked like for one generation, she could do the same for another as Mipha.
Revali: Jeremy Renner
There isn’t much explanation behind my choice of Jeremy Renner as Revali. Even in Breath of the Wild, Revali didn’t get much development or an identity. He was the ancient champion of the Rito (bird) tribe. He’d likely be created through make-up, CGI, or a combination of the two. Pretty much any actor who plays Revali would work. It’s funny for me to imagine Jeremy Renner getting typecast as a bow user. That’s the only reason I picked Renner. Tee-hee!
Prince Sidon: (Young) Ryan Gosling
When I imagine the character of Prince Sidon, he’s the goofball partner who enriches your adventure while having your back. That’s why I couldn’t help but imagine a younger Ryan Gosling in this role. Back in the day, Gosling had a way of portraying characters with likable personalities, charming relationships, and a comedic edge. Gosling still has those capabilities, but a younger version of him would be a better fit for this role. Sidon is also meant to be Mipha’s younger brother.
Urbosa: Padma Lakshmi
Unfortunately, Padma Lakshmi doesn’t have many mainstream roles today, but the Urbosa role has her written all over it. As the ancient champion of the Gerudo Tribe, Urbosa is a gallant, stalwart, and authoritative fighter. Urbosa has the strength, finesse, and know-how to bring her enemies to their knees, and that’s why I can’t help but imagine Padma Lakshmi as her. While Lakshmi’s age may put limits on what she’s physically capable of, her personality is perfect. It would also be great to see her in another mainstream film.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here again. Those are our picks for the upcoming Legend of Zelda movie. Who would you cast in these roles? Heck, would add anyone else to this cast of characters? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Today, our writers share what they’ve been listening to over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been listening to this past month in the comments. We’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get us started.
Kyra’s Tunes
In terms of music, this past month was an odd one for me. Nuke-Con (Omaha’s board game convention) is right around the corner–I hope to see some of you there next week–and Nuke-Con reminded me of a battle cry one of my friends said during one of last year’s games: Holy Fish Heads! I had to listen to Dr. Demento. There was no choice. But I didn’t listen to any Weird Al Yankovic tunes. No offense, Weird Al. “Fish Heads” by Barnes & Barnes made the rotation, as did The Firm’s “Star Trekkin,” and Ogden Edsl’s “Dead Puppies.” Fun fact: Ogden Edsl was from Omaha. Pour one out for my cornies.
Sometimes you need a good laugh. “Fish Heads” regales us with all the things severed fish heads can’t do: play baseball, play drums, or wear sweaters. “Star Trekkin”–obviously a Star Trek spoof–is the first novelty song to ever reach number one on the UK charts. “There’s Klingons on the starboard bow, starboard bow, starboard bow. There’s Klingons on the starboard bow, starboard bow, Jim.” And “Dead Puppies” laments how deceased pets aren’t much fun. I love how “Dead Puppies” ends with a mock religious tone. Cue the cathedral organ. None of these songs–or musical acts–take themselves too seriously. I needed that. The world is serious enough, bring on the levity.
Brian David Gilbert (BDG) may be one of the few modern acts who remind me of classic Dr. Demento. Not enough songs feature the recorder. Throw in some absurd existential dread, and “there is a rock in my house” has you covered. BDG contradicts himself in “Husky Voice.” You should also check out “i wish that i could wear hats,” but clearly BDG can wear hats. And I love teasing my spouse with “Don’t Tell Your WIFE About This Game!,” which serves as a warning about neglect. There’s a reason “Don’t Tell Your WIFE About This Game!” (pictured above) is Brian David Gilbert’s most popular song. Despite being a comedy song, the lyrics are brilliant.
Considered a one-hit wonder, Dishwalla’s debut album, Pet Your Friends, had plenty of other great tracks besides that one hit. Oddly enough, a handful of these tracks could also be considered novelty songs, and they happen to be two of my favorites: “Miss Emma Peel” and “Charlie Brown’s Parents.” When I first listened to Pet Your Friends (in the Nineties), I was rewatching Avengers episodes–not the Marvel kind of Avengers–so “Miss Emma Peel” chose the right subject matter. It doesn’t hurt that J. R. Richards has a hypnotic voice. Like “Don’t Tell Your WIFE About This Game,” “Charlie Brown’s Parents” may have some of the most clever novelty–or novelty-adjacent–song lyrics. “Charlie Brown’s Parents” adheres to lines and imagery from Peanuts and manages to say something greater than the sum of its parts.
“Counting Blue Cars” is Dishwalla’s one big hit, and it’s still a bop decades later. But “Haze” allows Richards to explore his vocal range, and “Give” features Dishwalla’s best groove. Post Pet Your Friends, Dishwalla had a few modest hits like (2002) Opaline’s “Somewhere in the Middle,” but Pet Your Friends remains the band’s best collection of tracks.
That’s all I have for music this month. Let’s check in with Skye.
Skye’s Tunes
Hooked on Classics is a love letter to well-known classical music compositions with a twist. Louis Clark and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra give a modern take on timeless classical pieces by increasing the tempo, jazzing up the beat, and modernizing the music. To some, I can understand how a modern rendition of Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, and other renowned classical composers’ works could be considered blasphemy. With me, I say, “Let’s just have fun.” I’ve never been a purist, and I don’t plan on starting now.
I’ve had Pink Moon in my vinyl collection for a while and have listened to it many times. However, it wasn’t until last month I truly started appreciating it. There are albums in my collection that give me a sense of calm and comfort, but none of them are quite like Pink Moon by Nick Drake. Pink Moon feels like hanging out with close friends while camping or watching a sunset with a lovable extended-family member. If I close my eyes, I can almost drift into another dimension while listening to Nick Drake’s Pink Moon, and that’s my favorite part.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here again. That’s all our writers have for Geekly Tunes this month. Let us know what you’ve been listening to in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Hi, Geekly Gang! Season here. It may be September, but it’s still hot here in the Midwest. Let’s cool down with an ice cream plushie review. Today, we’re going to be looking at Squishable’s Comfort Food Mint Chocolate Ice Cream Bar 22”. This is a long name, so I’ll call this plushie by the name my mom gave it: Minty Sprink.
Before we begin, let’s review the categories. Like Minty Sprink’s predecessors, I’ll be looking at size, softness, kid-friendliness, and cuddliness. There won’t be an aggregated score.
Size
Minty Sprink is on the bigger side and can serve as a decorative pillow for your couch and/or bed. They even make a good fuzzy pillow. Or, if you’re feeling fancy, a lap pillow for your arms to rest.
Softness Versus Firmness
Minty Sprink is on the softer side. The chocolate-dipped section is softer than the mint coating. They’re easy to squish but still firm enough to provide back and/or head support. If you use them this way, you may end up with a skinny ice cream bar. Nobody likes a skinny ice cream bar.
Kid Friendly Versus Adults Only
Minty Sprink is great for all ages. They’re fun for the food plushie enthusiast. And there are no small pieces that can harm kiddos. They also make an amazing playmate. Who doesn’t want to play with their food?
Cuddle Buddy Versus Desk Buddy
We have a certified cuddle buddy over here. Minty Sprink could be displayed alongside other Squishables, but they do better curled up with you on the couch. If you’re really down for decorating, they make an amazing throw pillow.
Final Thoughts
Minty Sprink is very soft to the touch, so they’re soothing for me to pet. They’re unavailable on the Squishable website, but you may be able to find some on eBay. There may be some stragglers in brick-and-mortar Squishable stores. They’re one of my go-to plushies when I need some extra fluffiness.
What’s your favorite Squishable? Do you agree with my assessment? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading and have an amazing rest of your day.
Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! We have another week of geek news. This week saw plenty of new releases for board games and video games, and we’ll get to them in a minute. But first, we have a little news from the MCU.
MCU Updates
First, Avengers: Doomsday completed filming this past week. Future reshoots could occur, but principal photography has been completed, and that’s great news, considering Avengers: Doomsday experienced a lot of issues while filming.
According to industry insider Alex Perez (via The Cosmic Circus), with a good track record for getting MCU rumors correct, we should receive a Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch) variant in Avengers: Doomsday. Magneto will be established as the ruler of Genosha, and there should be a mutant royal family (of sorts), which will include Magneto, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Polaris. This idea has been in the works since Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The main story the MCU would like to explore is Scarlet Witch and Magneto’s relationship as father and daughter.
There are a few potential issues with this news. How is the MCU going to be able to explore a dynamic like this in a movie with a massive cast? Will Sir Ian McKellen portray a Magneto who’s also Elizabeth Olsen’s father? The MCU must be casting younger actors for these upcoming X-Men roles. But everything we’ve heard over the past several months leans toward McKellen (Magneto) and Olsen (Scarlet Witch). We’ve seen images of Avengers: Doomsday filming at a castle. At the time, we thought the castle was meant to represent Castle Doomstadt (Dr. Doom’s castle). Combining the rumor of a mutant first family, the castle may be meant for Magneto and his family.
As evidenced in The Marvels’ closing scene (with established MCU characters and Kelsey Grammer’s Beast), the MCU has shown that it will mix and match characters from multiple timelines as if they’d known each other for decades, so a father and daughter reunion in Avengers: Doomsday isn’t out of the question. Even though I love the story, I doubt we’ll get a storyline as dense and layered as House of M. The MCU won’t have enough time to do that story justice. Avengers: Doomsday will be packed.
The Sheep Stalks KickStarter
The Sheep may be the funniest horror board game I’ve heard of yet. Sheep are the apex predators, and shepherds (each player chooses from one of six unique shepherds) must guide their flock during the day, while avoiding the Sheep, who transform into apex predators at night.
I love The Sheep’s premise. Using their equipment, traits, and curses players work together to stop the Sheep before they can reach the caravans. The Sheep sounds like a baaad aaaass game. It plays 2-4 players with 40 minute playtime for each player in the game. Pledges range from $35-$240, and there is an option to just purchase The Sheep’s adorable Eldritch Sheep Plushie with posable tentacles. Season may need one of those. If you’re interested in The Sheep, check out its KickStarter page.
Making Monsters Shambles onto KickStarter
Players take the role of mad scientists in Making Monsters. Featuring a unique push-your-luck bag-building mechanism, Making Monsters has player simultaneously draw (from the bag) and assemble monster parts. You try to complete powerful creatures. If you play things too safe, you’ll fall behind. If you try to build too fast, you’ll watch your monsters crumble.
Making Monsters is another goofy horror board game. This one is designed by board game veteran Jonathan Gilmour-Long (Dead of Winter, Dinosaur Island, and Wasteland Express Delivery Service). Unlike many other board games on crowdfunding sites, Making Monsters has a quick turnaround. The files are complete, and game production is underway, so backers can expect the game in about six months (typically, wait times are at least a year). If you’re interested in Making Monsters, check out its KickStarter page.
SandCastle Launches on GameFound
Build the most beautiful sandcastle by managing your time between construction, fishing, collecting seashells, and handling whims. Use your equipment strategically and defend yourself against the waves by reinforcing your walls. Whoever builds the most impressive SandCastle, wins.
I love the concept of this cozy game. SandCastle. Bro Games Edition is a relatively new company, but they feature several eco-friendly production practices and employ people with disabilities. SandCastle tries its best to cause minimal ecological impact and may show the way to a more ethical way to produce board games. If you’re interested in SandCastle, check out its GameFound page.
A-Mazing Game of Gears’N Guffaws Chugs onto GameFound
In A-Mazing Game of Gears’N Guffaws, players navigate a shifting clockwork maze, control hidden characters, and outwit your opponents. On your turn, move, reveal, and rotate your way through a city on the brink–but your true allegiance remains secret…for now. A-Mazing Game of Gears’N Guffaws features a solo mode, but you can also play semi-cooperatively or fully competitive with others. Players don’t know who belongs to which faction. Trust no one.
I love A-Mazing Game of Gears’N Guffaws options. I’m unsure how a game could support semi-cooperative and fully competitive game modes, but I’m here for it. The theme is fun. I like how you may choose to reveal characters and/or rotate tiles so they match your goals. A-Mazing Game of Gears’N Guffaws may have one of the longest names, and I’m hoping its replay value is just as long. If you’re interested in A-Mazing Game of Gears’N Guffaws, check out its GameFound page.
Pink Soup Game Cooks on GameFound
Steeped in Lithuanian heritage (and culinary arts), Pink Soup Game has players hunt for ingredients and cook up the strangest–and most iconic-Lithuanian recipes to become the ultimate Chef Champion. But beware, your opponents are waiting for the perfect moment to sneak a hot chili pepper into your pot, and ruin your dish.
There’s a lot to like about Pink Soup Game. While I don’t know exactly how the game is played (GameFound isn’t always as forthcoming with gameplay as KickStarter), Pink Soup Game features language-independent play, which is always a plus. I love the theme. Cooking themes are always a plus, and the fact that Pink Soup Game showcases Lithuanian cuisine (a culture I’m less familiar with) puts this game on my radar. I even love the idea that followers can pick which Lithuanian dessert enters the final game. If you’re interested in Pink Soup Game, check out its GameFound page.
Stranger Antiquities Releases
I’ve been on a shop management game kick lately, and Strange Antiquities scratches that itch. Strange Antiquities puts the player in the role of a store dealing in occult antiquities. Similar to Tiny Bookshop, Strange Antiquities has players explore a quaint town, but Strange Antiquities amps up the mystery to a thousand. Find and identify arcane artifacts and use your collection to aid the townsfolk with their unusual problems.
I love the puzzle Strange Antiquities presents. Strange Antiquities is the continuation of Strange Horticulture. If you love that puzzle, you’ll love Strange Antiquities. I haven’t yet dived into Strange Antiquities, but something tells me it’ll be a great ride. I’ve added it to my wishlist on Steam, and after I purchase the game, I’ll most likely write a review. Strange Antiquities is available on the Nintendo Switch and PC. If you’re interested in Strange Antiquities, check out its Steam store page.
Dying Light: The Beast Releases
After years of brutal experiments, you want revenge. Dying Light: The Beast features a unique blend of open world and survival horror as you hunt down the man who transformed you into half man, half beast. Dying Light: The Beast makes for a great spooky season video game, and the critics hold Dying Light in high regard.
Dying Light: The Beast continues the Dying Light series’ story. In fact, Dying Light: The Beast puts players in the role of Kyle Crane, who was the protagonist of the first Dying Light game. I have yet to play Dying Light: The Beast, but the premise sounds interesting–taking the Dying Light series to an open-world map. You had me at survival horror and open-world. The game supports a 4-player cooperative multiplayer mode. We’re unsure if Dying Light: The Beast is cross-platform yet. It’s available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Wander Stars Releases
In Wander Stars, unleash custom attacks by combining words in this Super! Anime! Turn-Based! RPG! Collect all 200 words, earn Pep Ups from honorable victories, and become a Kiai master. Befriend your rivals, uncover dark mysteries, and seek out the pieces of the Wanderstar map in a wild race across the universe.
Young martial artist Ringo searches for her brother, and Wolfe, a mysterious scoundrel running from his past, as they join forces in an unlikely partnership to collect the pieces of the fabled Wanderstar Map. Wander Stars follows a 10-episode anime-inspired adventure. Ringo and Wolfe must work together to find answers, make up for past mistakes, and travel across the universe in search of their goal. Wander Stars is available on Nintendo Switch and PC.
That’s all the Geek News we have for this week. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
We’ve discussed many Marvel United expansions from the game’s initial set; it’s time to talk about Marvel United: X-Men. This version of Marvel United adds team play and a one versus many option, where one player controls the villain while the others play the heroes. This increases gameplay options and allows for a fifth player to join in on the fun.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. In Marvel United: X-Men, players act as iconic X-Men heroes who work together to stop the master plan of a powerful villain controlled by the game and in some cases another player. Each villain has a unique master plan, cards that trigger various effects, and threats that make clearing locations difficult. Heroes clear missions, making the villain vulnerable, and finally take on the big bad villain before they complete their master plan. Can you save the day in time? Marvel United: X-Men adds Marvel’s merry mutants to the fray.
Before we get any further, we’ll take a side quest and discuss Marvel United: X-Men’s less heroic details.
The Fiddly Bits
Designer: Andrea Chiarvesio, Eric M. Lang, and Francesco Rugerfred Sedda Publisher: CMON Global Limited and Spin Master Ltd. Date Released: 2021 Number of Players: 1-5 Age Range: 8 and up Setup Time: 5-10 minutes Play Time: 30-40 minutes
We already covered the Game Setup and Game Flow in our original Marvel United review (here’s a link to that review), so we’ll go over the basics in the following two sections. Let’s cover an abbreviated review of the game setup and rules.
Marvel United: X-Men’s setup can change depending on which Villain(s) and Heroes you choose to play. Each game consists of six locations. Eight locations are included because Marvel United: X-Men is a core set. You may choose your locations or shuffle them and choose six at random. Each Location card has spaces at the top for civilians and thugs and a rectangle with a block of text that will state “End of Turn” at the top of the box.
Place civilian/thug tokens on their matching spaces. Shuffle the Villain’s Threat deck and deal out each Threat face-up so that it covers the rectangle at the bottom of each location. You must clear this threat before gaining the “End of Turn” effect printed on a Location. Place health tokens where signified on threat cards and on the Villain dashboard. Place the three mission cards (Defeat Thugs, Rescue Civilians, and Clear Threats) face up under the villain dashboard where the text reads “Unlocked.”
Each player shuffles their hero decks and then draws three cards to form their hands. Shuffle the Villain’s Master Plan deck. Leave the Master Plan deck face down. This will be the villain’s draw pile.
Players place their miniatures on one of the six location cards, usually the centralmost location for each player (easy access). Then, they place the villain on the location card opposing the heroes. If one player chooses to play as the villain, hand the Super Villain cards to them, and the Heroes gain access to Super Hero cards. These new card times can be played if the game state triggers their use (for example, “You play a Master Plan card” or “Any Hero has 4 or more cards in their hand at the end of the Hero Turn.” Timing is key.
Game Flow
The villain(s) play first. Draw the top card of their master plan deck. The villain moves the number of spaces indicated. Resolve any BAM! Effects and these effects will be printed on a space within the villain’s dashboard. Then, place the civilian/thug tokens (if any) indicated at the bottom of the card. If a player has taken the role of the villain, they get a hand of cards and can choose which card they play. The heroes get their turn after all the villain’s effects are resolved.
Heroes pick who goes first, and hero turns will continue around the table clockwise. At the beginning of each game, Heroes will get three turns before the villain receives another turn. During their turn, heroes play one card from their hand.
Resolve actions and the symbols printed at the bottom of the hero’s card in any order. The symbols at the bottom of a hero’s card will be shared with the next player, but any printed action will not be shared. Heroes will use these actions to complete missions. The game begins with three missions in play: Defeat Thugs, Rescue Civilians, and Clear Threats. Each mission card will have spaces for the tokens they require to complete. As soon as these spaces are filled, the card is discarded, and the mission is considered complete. Mission cards can be completed in any order.
After the heroes complete the first mission, the villain panics and will act (play a card) every two hero cards instead of every three hero cards. After the heroes complete the second mission, the villain becomes vulnerable to damage. The heroes can complete the third mission, but it isn’t necessary. If the heroes do complete the third mission, each hero immediately draws 1 card, increasing each player’s hand size by one.
Play continues back and forth until either the villain wins (by completing their unique master plan or anyone, heroes or villains, runs out of cards) or the heroes win by dealing enough damage to the villain after the villain becomes vulnerable to damage.
Review
Marvel United: X-Men features many new game concepts for the United game system. Having one player take on the role of the villain is the most obvious. I like that Spin Master and CMON games include a chart that allows gamers to play villains from the previous set. Since X-Men characters have a knack for flip-flopping their allegiance, it makes sense that Marvel United: X-Men began the trend of purple miniatures (anti-heroes who can be played as heroes or villains). This feature is crucial to the game design, as I forgot it began with Marvel United’s second wave (X-Men). Marvel United: X-Men also adds a team element with its Blue and Gold Team expansions. That doesn’t factor in too much with the core set. We’ll talk more about the X-Men Blue and Gold Teams in the future.
Power creep is a real thing in Marvel United: X-Men. In the original set, players were lucky if they had three unique abilities and anything more than three cards in their deck with special abilities. Marvel United: X-Men heroes have a minimum of four cards in their deck with special abilities and at least two unique special effects, but there are plenty of heroes with way more than four special ability cards. Marvel United: X-Men also includes plenty of powers that deal with crisis tokens. The original set had a few ways to deal with crisis tokens; most of the methods came in the form of Location “End of Turn” abilities. I like the inclusion of heroes with crisis token abilities. The heroes in Marvel United’s second way had plenty of new ways to affect the game state.
Beginning with the anti-heroes (the purple miniatures who can be heroes or villains), let’s get into specific heroes you can find in the Marvel United: X-Men Core Set. Mystique features few Heroics but plenty of Move and Attack. Her two special abilities (two copies of each card) allow her to prevent new tokens (Thugs or Civilians) from being added by the next Master Plan card, and she can redirect damage from herself to Henchmen or Thugs. This plays into Mystique’s ability as an infiltrator. Typically, Marvel United: X-Men does a good job of showing each anti-hero as their heroic and villainous selves. Magneto is the other anti-hero included in the Core Set. Like Mystique, he has little Heroics but can zoom around the board and deal copious amounts of damage. I like Magneto’s ability to convert symbols into Wild symbols. This makes him versatile.
Perhaps because of the increased number of powers within hero decks, Marvel United: X-Men does an even better job of capturing its heroes. Wolverine begins the game with a healing factor. Cyclops uses Leadership, while Beast also has a regenerating factor (not as persistent as Wolverines) and he specializes in heroics and movement. So far, far thematic, but I really like Storm, Jean Grey, and Professor X. Storm can reposition the entire team, Jean Grey can manipulate the Storyline with Telekinesis, and Professor X may be the most powerful hero in the X-Men Core Set. He’s surprisingly mobile with a penchant for heroics. He can also use Telepathy to manipulate the Storyline, give tokens with Leadership, turn symbols into Wilds, and even turn Thugs into Civilians.
In short, the heroes of Marvel United: X-Men have more personality than the previous set. Professor X may be overly powerful. Half of the cards in his deck possess special abilities, and two of the other six cards feature wild symbols. The villains in the X-Men Core Set provide plenty of twists for gameplay, but that’s to be expected from Marvel United villains. The villains have always represented this game’s most intriguing design space. Sabretooth hunts heroes, while Juggernaut charges from one location to the next, damaging everyone in his way. Magneto is especially difficult to stop. He can nullify all Hero effects and hand out crisis tokens to heroes, damaging them for each crisis token the hero possesses. But Mystique may be the most interesting villain from this lot. She targets Senator Kelly, and the heroes lose if she carries out her assassination.
Marvel United: X-Men’s Locations have varied “End of Turn” abilities. Token draw, healing, moving to another location, rescuing a Civilian, and dealing damage to a Thug/Henchman are standard fare by this point, but Marvel United: X-Men’s Locations gives these mechanisms a few twists. But my favorite “End of Turn” ability may be Sentinel Space Station’s. You may discard 1 card from your hand to the bottom of your deck to swap a card from your hand with one of your face-up cards in the Storyline. This ability is a hint of what one can expect in other Marvel United: X-Men expansions.The Marvel United: X-Men Core Set does enough to show what the second United wave of games offers. It does a great job of building on a solid foundation.
Too Long; Didn’t Read
Marvel United: X-Men adds numerous wrinkles to the United Series’ gameplay. A player can take the role of the villain, team play is possible, and antihero characters can be either heroes or villains. The heroes within Marvel United’s second wave have more personality, while the villains remain stellar. Mystique’s mission of assassinating Senator Kelly is fantastic.
Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another Whatcha post. Today, our Geekly writers share which television shows and movies they’ve watched over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been watching. We’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get us started.
Kyra’s Shows
Yes! It’s a Whatcha Wednesday, and I’m mentioning the show, Wednesday. I watched Wednesday for the first time this month, so I’m late to the party. I enjoyed the first season. I may even need to do a deep dive for the Wednesday Addams character as she’s had an intriguing transformation through the decades (I even have some of the original comic strips). So good. I liked the nods Tim Burton makes to the original Addams Family television show throughout Wednesday while allowing the show to forge its own path.
Wednesday isn’t just a retelling of the Addams Family. It’s a reimagining. And I appreciate how Wednesday has created this new boarding school environment. With Joanne Rowling showing her colors as a transphobe, Wednesday offers a great alternative for an LGBT community left disenchanted with Hogwarts. Of course, Enid and Wednesday’s budding friendship drives Wednesday’s first season. While a little predictable, the first season’s murder mystery was fun.
Wednesday’s second season may have a more complex mystery, but it suffers from bloat. The first season weaved in small callbacks to the original series; the second season pumps in more callbacks to the original series, the Nineties movies, and Wednesday’s first season. This season also pivots away from Enid and Wednesday’s relationship, which makes sense for the story (I won’t spoil it here), but the lack of this pair’s chemistry hurts.
This may be an unfair assessment for season two. I’m trying to stay ahead of weekly Geekly posts so I’ll have more time to work on my novel (something I’m sure Wednesday would approve of), and I’m writing this entry a week before the second half of Wednesday’s second season releases. I’m sure there will be some great payoff during Wednesday’s second half. You may get a second post for Wednesday next month.
I’m enjoying Wednesday’s second season and can’t wait for this season’s conclusion.
I also binged Netflix’s Trainwreck series. This series (of about hour-long mini documentaries) varies in its watchability. Each episode of Trainwreck has excellent production, don’t get me wrong. It’s the subject matter for each Trainwreck episode that makes or breaks the show’s watchability. I couldn’t stand the Storm Area 51 documentary. I wanted to reach through my screen a slap the kid who started that trend. But I felt for the Balloon Boy’s parents. It seemed like an honest mistake, and it was clear Balloon Boy Falcon’s mother wasn’t fluent in English. P.I. Moms was eye-opening. While I don’t care for reality TV, it’s a shame this show fell apart. And the Poop Cruise made me second-guess going on a cruise ship. Yikes!
That’s all I have for Whatcha Watching this month. Let’s check in with Season and Skye.
Season’s Shows
I got nostalgic last month, Geekly Gang. I remember watching the original Fruits Basket anime (2001) on my CRT TV from a folding chair in the basement, using my Nintendo Wii, while taking notes for my ninth-grade physical science class. Good times. I was upset that the 2001 anime never finished the Fruits Basket manga, which continued way after the anime ended. Being stunned when the 2019 anime came out, a few years after I graduated from high school, doesn’t begin to describe what I felt at the time.
Nostalgia aside, there are aspects of the story that haven’t aged well. The premise is goofy enough on its own–people turning into animals of the Chinese Zodiac when hugged by a member of a different gender (male and female in this story). Many of the characters in Fruits Basket adhere to ideas of masculinity and femininity. The men suck at housework while the women are expected to do it. At least, as far as Tohru Honda (the female lead) goes. There is a character in the show who enjoys wearing women’s kimonos because he feels more at ease wearing them, but gets made fun of for it by some of the characters. If you’re willing to look past these things, Fruits Basket (2019) is an enjoyable watch that lets you turn off your brain.
Fruits Basket (2019) doesn’t take itself seriously in the beginning. Things ramp up toward the end, but there are still many comedic moments. Most of the characters have a lot of depth. Even the side characters who were around for, like, two episodes.
Fun fact: The original English cast of Fruits Basket (2001) reprised their roles for Fruits Basket (2019). I’m not sure about the Japanese cast.
That’s all from me. What have you been watching this week, Skye?
Skye’s Movies
I’ve never been a huge fan of The Conjuring franchise. While I enjoyed the first film when I saw it 5 years ago, it didn’t make me eager to watch the rest. Only after the recent release of The Conjuring: The Last Rites did I think, “It might be time to watch The Conjuring movies.” Over the past month, I watched 9 Conjuring movies. This includes the Annabelle spinoff trilogy, the 2 Nun films, and The Curse of La Llorona. What did I learn? Hollywood loves doing the same thing.
Are all the Conjuring movies the same? No, but they have striking similarities. Typically, there’s a cursed object, haunted house, or tormented family. Spooky stuff happens, experts show up, the spirits freak out, and the power of Christ compels them. I must admit, of The Conjuring films I watched, the ones bearing the “Conjuring” title were my favorites. These movies owe their watchability to the star power of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga). Every time they were on screen, they shared an unrivaled chemistry that made their relationship much more real and adorable.
Do I recommend The Conjuring series? It depends on what you’re into, but if you like spooky films involving ghosts, demon possessions, and haunted dolls, I’m sure you’ll like the Conjuring franchise. Also, I gotta admit that I have a soft spot for Annabelle Comes Home. It’s just a fun romp through a carnival of horrors.
Skye’s Show
Watching the Netflix Ranma ½ remake came as an accident last month. I hadn’t intended to watch it anytime soon, until I woke up one day and decided to binge the whole first season. Overall, I feel like Ranma ½ (2024) did the original series justice while reintroducing it to a new generation. As a fan of the original, the main thing I noticed was a lack of alterations. The Ranma 1/2 (2024) team made changes like modernizing the animation, changing voice actors, and adjusting the pacing of the story. The show’s story remains untouched.
Because of that, I can’t help but ask, “Then why remake it at all?” I have 4 seasons of the original series on DVD box set, so why wouldn’t I just watch that? I know modern film and TV culture has shifted media consumption to online streaming, but Netflix could’ve just as easily put the original series in their library. I still enjoyed Ranma ½ (2024), but that’s essentially the same thing as saying I enjoyed Ranma ½ (1989). Take that as you will, and feel free to watch Ranma ½ (2024) if you don’t have access to the original. Otherwise, just watch the original.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle again. Those are all the shows and movies our writers watched over the past month. What’ve you been watching, Geekly Gang? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. As promised, this post is the companion piece to our Dead End: Paranormal Park Autism Representation post earlier today. Dead End: Paranormal Park is unique in that it has two main characters, one an autistic Pakistani-American girl, and the other a transgender Jewish-American boy, so we’re writing two posts about the same Netflix show. This is great news for me. If you didn’t catch our previous post, I’m a late-diagnosed autistic person and ADHDer, but I’m also trans and gender queer. Let’s dig into both sides of Dead End: Paranormal Park’s representation.
Since Netflix cancelled Dead End: Paranormal Park after 20 episodes, this post will break down each pertinent 20-minute episode regarding Barney Guttman, a 17-year-old gay and transgender Jewish-American boy who runs away to the theme park because of his complicated relationship with his family. Barney is another great example of intersectionality. Dead End: Paranormal Park is off to a great start. We’ll begin with the first episode, “The Job.”
Season 1, Episode 1, “The Job”
Dead End: Paranormal Park drops some subtle hints about Barney’s identity. We’re first introduced to him when he colors his hair light blue with a pink hair dye spray can. Members of the community see this as an obvious nod to the transgender flag, which features light blue, pink, and white stripes. Great nod. After he’s ready for the day, Barney heads downstairs from his bedroom, and this is when we get an exchange that hints at Barney’s troubled family life. First, his mother doesn’t know that he has a job interview that day. Second, Grammy-Gram (Barney’s grandmother) doesn’t approve of his trans identity.
Again, Dead End: Paranormal Park subtly conveys this. Barney’s mother asks if he’ll be back (from his job interview at the titular park) for dinner, and Barney asks who will be at dinner. When Barney’s mother lists Grammy-Gram as a participant, Barney asks his mother if Grammy-Gram knows he’ll be there. After his mother says yes, Barney clarifies if Grammy-Gram knows “Barney” will be there, suggesting that Grammy-Gram dead names Barney. Dead End: Paranormal Park does a great job of showing this family tension while not beating non-community members over the head with it, and the show also respects the viewer’s intelligence.
So far, so good. Dead End: Paranormal Park has more subtle hints about Barney’s identity. When he and Norma (the autistic Pakistani-American co-main character) meet in the bus, she doesn’t recognize him at first and claims that she’s bad at names. By the end of “The Job,” she calls him Barney. During the duo’s exploits, Barney insists that he won’t leave his dog (Pugsley) behind. Pugsley’s family. He’s the only family member who accepts him. Pets are great because they don’t care what your gender identity or sexual orientation is. They love unconditionally. Barney needs this, and he isn’t receiving it at home, so he runs away to live at Phoenix Park (Paranormal Park).
Unfortunately, trans kids running away from home happens far too often, especially when their family doesn’t accept them for who they are. At this point, we don’t know how Barney’s family, outside of Grammy-Gram, feels about his identity. Dead End: Paranormal Park is just getting started. And it’s a great start.
Random point one: I love that Pauline Phoenix, the purveyor of Phoenix (Paranormal) Park, is a drag queen. I would totally visit a drag queen amusement park.
Random point two: Courtney (the demon) is non-binary/gender queer in the comics and uses they/them pronouns, but Netflix insisted on the show using she/her pronouns instead. I still claim Courtney as part of the gender queer tribe. I’ll teach them the secret handshake. Thanks for the erasure, Netflix.
Season 1, Episode 2, “The Tunnel”
Most of “The Tunnel’s” opening minutes revolve around Norma, her obsession with Pauline Phoenix, and that Pugsley can talk. Pugsley even tells Norma what she had for breakfast two days ago (eggs with avocado and chili flakes). Yuck! That yuck was directed at a dog sniffing people’s behinds and then telling them what they ate; those eggs sound pretty good.
Anyway, Barney’s first big moment in “The Tunnel” comes when Logan Nguyen (the park’s health and safety officer) enters the staff meeting. Barney falls for Logan at first sight. I love Dead End: Paranormal Park’s decision here. Gender identity and sexual orientation are separate things. Groups like the LGB Alliance (they erase the T for transgender on purpose) often promote ideas that the world is losing its lesbians because they’re transitioning to men, especially when those trans men are attracted to women. Barney is a gay, trans boy. He’s transitioning and is still attracted to men. Representation like this debunks ideas that gender identity and sexual orientation are linked. They aren’t. Kudos to Dead End: Paranormal Park.
But the crux of “The Tunnel’s” narrative is Barney trying to hide the talking Pugsley from the world to protect him. Toward the end of this episode, Norma questions Barney’s “protecting” Pugsley by locking him away. The scene (picture above) where Barney and Pugsley call each other “bad” ends with Barney asking why Pugsley can’t go back to being his old self, and Pugsley saying that Barney is just as bad as Grammy-Gram. This is another lovely scene by Dead End: Paranormal Park. Most trans people have heard the “Why can’t you be like you were?” question before. We get another glimpse into Barney’s home life before the show, and I love how Barney is allowed to internalize Grammy-Gram’s refusal to see the real him by giving Barney and Pugsley this moment.
“The Tunnel” ends with Barney saying he’s trans. The park gives him the space to be himself. Everyone outside the park has the Barney he was before he started transitioning. This is a genuine occurrence for trans people. It’s easier to be around people who didn’t know you before you transitioned because they’re more likely to accept you as you are now. This scene is true and hits close to home.
Season 1, Episode 3, “Trust Me”
Barney’s story takes a backseat to Norma’s during “Trust Me.” We see him flirt with Logan during a team-building exercise. Most of this episode occurs through Norma’s point of view, and she envies Barney’s socialability, but Barney only has this ability because he’s on his own and allowed to live as his true self. The next bit is a spoiler, but we’ve talked about Dead End: Paranormal Park enough at this point that spoilers are to be expected. The team-building guru is a fear demon in disguise. He tricks the park staff into touching a bejeweled skull that forces each person to face their greatest fear.
Barney’s nightmare sequence gives us the first glimpse of his family. Grammy-Gram says horrible, unintelligible things about Barney, while his parents sit at the table and say nothing. This is a common and chilling scene. It drives home the point that remaining silent while others (even other loved ones) berate a trans person is just as bad as being the one who spouts the hate. Barney pleads with his parents to say something, to stand up for him, and they don’t.
Fortunately, Norma slipped into Barney’s nightmare and rescued him. Even though this is a nightmare sequence, it hits home. A 2019 report by The Trevor Project (a trans youth support group) states that one supportive parent can reduce the risk of a trans youth from committing suicide by 40%. Barney’s nightmare sequence serves as a good reminder to be a supportive parent.
Season 1, Episode 4, “Night of the Living Kids”
When Barney left home, he didn’t just leave his parents. His younger brother Patrick, reaches out to Barney by texting. Barney can’t find the words to say and doesn’t text back. But it turns out that Barney doesn’t need to. The Phoenix Parks gang is hosting an overnight kids’ birthday party, and the birthday boy is none other than Barney’s brother Patrick. I like the inclusion of Patrick. He never deadnames Barney. I found it easier for younger people, like my kids, to adapt to name changes. Heck, Patrick even adapts quickly to Pugsley’s ability to talk.
Naturally, Patrick feels abandoned by Barney. He still sleeps with the stuffed animal (a lion named Max) that Barney gave him. Patrick proves that Barney had people in his corner back at home. Patrick understands why Barney left, but he insists that Barney at least let their parents know that he’s okay. A tender moment happens near the end of “Night of the Living Kids.” Barney’s parents stop by to pick up Patrick, but Barney refuses to take off his dinosaur costume. His mother asks if Barney happened to stop by, and Barney says no. Barney’s mom looks crestfallen for a moment and then shrugs it off. She shares with Barney that the family is having issues.
Barney’s mother, claiming that Barney is “doing one of his disappearing acts again,” suggests that this isn’t the first time Barney has run away from home. Perhaps this is true. It could also be Barney’s mother trying not to reveal too much of the family’s personal business to who she thinks is a stranger. All of this adds layers to Barney’s family life. His family has obvious communication problems, and they could find closure as Patrick tells their mother a secret at the end of “Night of the Living Kids.” At this point, we don’t know what Patrick tells his mother, but it’s probably that Barney lives at Phoenix Parks.
Dead End: Paranormal Park is playing the particulars of this storyline close to the vest. We don’t yet know how Barney’s parents feel about his gender identity. We know that Grammy-Gram disapproves, and his parents refuse or somehow feel unable to stand up for him. While we don’t dive too deeply into these waters in this episode, “Night of the Living Kids” is setting up a fantabulous foundation.
Season 1, Episode 5, “The Nightmare Before Christmas in July”
“The Nightmare Before Christmas in July” breaks away from Barney and Norma’s storylines and focuses on their new demon friend, Courtney. Courtney is stuck in the mortal realm, so Barney and Norma go on a devilish game show to snag them (Courtney) a ticket home. We’ll be using Courtney’s preferred pronouns of they/them. I wanted to take another moment and ask why Netflix decided to gender Courtney. They’re a demon. Gender doesn’t make sense for them. If you want to see the original Courtney, check out the show runner, Hamish Steele’s, DeadEndia comic series.
Season 1, Episode 6, “Wait Time: 22 Minutes”
“Wait Time: 22 Minutes” gets its name from the supposed wait time for the Dr. Love Ride, a Phoenix Parks attraction that’s been shut down since before Barney was born. The park reopened the line, and a crowd gathered to hop on the ride. Barney has no interest in riding Dr. Love, but changes his mind when he spots his family walking out of the ride’s exit. Barney’s family doesn’t frequent the park often. It’s a fair bet that Patrick told his parents where Barney is, but it’s not confirmed. This keeps the tension simmering, but it doesn’t overpower this episode. Barney rejoins Norma and the gang, unaware that his crush, Logan Nguyen, is in front of them. Logan lets the gang know that he’s riding Dr. Love to make sure the sign’s wait time is correct.
Barney changes his mind, of course, and stays. The group splinters when Norma finds out there’s an employee express lane. Desperate to ride Dr. Love before spoilers flood her timeline, she bolts for the second line, leaving Barney and Logan alone. And here’s where “Wait Time: 22 Minutes” gets juicy. Barney flirts poorly, and an older lesbian couple, who rode Dr. Love when they first got together, try to help Barney. Oh. It’s awkward. Barney is so awkward, and it’s great. Again, I’ll give Dead End: Paranormal Park props for making Barney a gay trans boy. These scenes would play out much differently if he were flirting with a girl.
The remainder of this episode’s runtime, in reality, revolves around Norma, Courtney, and Pugsley possessing Barney to woo Logan. Things get interesting when Norma and Barney enter a spirit realm called the in-between. You’re not dead. You’re not alive. You’re just sort of backstage. While in the in-between, Barney curses that he didn’t say goodbye to his parents. This moves his story along, but it also shows that awkward “in-between” where you, as a trans person, can still love people who don’t accept you, but you keep your distance for your protection, and while you find yourself. Most trans people experience this. Great job, Dead End: Paranormal Park.
But there comes a time after you find yourself and gain your strength that you must stop running, and this can result in tense conversations. Barney’s journey is short. It often takes some of us years to get there. My journey took me a while because I got diagnosed as autistic shortly after coming out, so there were multiple Celtic knots I needed to untangle. While I think this journey happens a little fast for Barney, it does match one that many trans people face. Rewatching Dead End: Paranormal Park has given me a greater appreciation for it. I can see this representation helping someone on their journey.
Season 1, Episode 7, “Norma Khan: Paranormal Detective”
While the “Norma Khan: Paranormal Detective” title suggests that Norma is this episode’s central character, the scene Dead End: Paranormal Park has been building between Barney and his family occurs, and it doesn’t disappoint. Barney and his family put everything on the line. Wires get crossed when they use nacho chips and chili cheese fries as metaphors. Patrick and Pugsley don’t get the metaphor, but I do like Patrick saying we can always order more nachos, which I believe is a subtle hint at the frequently used metaphor for trans that claims rights aren’t pie, and even if they are, there’s enough to go around. But I could be reading too much into this. That last point was conjecture.
What isn’t conjecture is that Pugsley and Patrick find themselves literally and figuratively stuck in the middle of a heated argument. Barney’s parents say that they accept him. Barney claims that they don’t do enough to show that they accept him. Dead End: Paranormal Park frames Barney’s claim as the valid one, and I agree. Acceptance isn’t a passive thing. One needs to show that they accept someone. Barney’s parents had a chance when Grammy-Gram berated Barney and didn’t take the opportunity. Dead End: Paranormal Park lays out this argument in an entertaining and less preachy manner than I do. I love Barney’s response when his parents ask him to come home. You’ve got to make it one first.
This episode ends with the ghost of Pauline Phoenix escaping a television screen. This has more to do with Norma’s side of this episode’s story, but I think we’ll be discussing Pauline in the next episode.
Season 1, Episode 8, “The Pauline Phoenix Experience”
“The Pauline Phoenix Experience” casts the gang in Pauline’s former roles, hence the black and white picture above. This episode doesn’t delve deeper into Barney’s story or expand him as a character, so we’ll keep this one short. Still, “The Pauline Phoenix Experience” is an excellent episode and does a lot to progress Dead End: Paranormal Park’s overarching story. I don’t want to spoil anything here, so I’m keeping things vague.
Season 1, Episode 9, “The Phantom of the Theme Park”
Dead End: Paranormal Park is a queer show that takes place in a drag queen theme park. Of course, there’s going to be a musical episode. “The Phantom of the Theme Park” takes inspiration from several musicals, but its main influence is The Phantom of the Opera. I love this episode. The music is spot on, and the musical does a great job of forwarding the action to season one’s conclusion. But “The Phantoms of the Theme Park” does little to explore Barney’s story, except that demons have swarmed the park, and his parents are turned to stone. Things just got real.
Season 1, Episode 10, “Into the Fire”
Demon lords Zagan and Temeluchus battle it out for the surface world. Demonic mayhem ensues, but all’s well that ends well. The humans are no longer turned to stone. After Phoenix Parks returns to normal (relatively speaking), Barney’s parents commit to having his back. They won’t have him over for Friday night dinners with Grammy-Gram until Grammy-Gram learns to accept him. Instead, Barney’s invited to Saturday night dinners. A simple gesture like this can make all the difference in a trans kid’s life. Barney’s parents have taken an active role in supporting their son.
I love the growth these characters made during the season. Even Courtney learned a thing or two. Dead End: Paranormal Park ends its first season with a cliffhanger. We’ve seen plenty of demons during the first season, but we catch our first glimpse of a citizen from heaven.
Quick Break and Thank You
Thank you for reading up to this point. You’re amazing. Since the Dead End: Paranormal Park’s first season set up its characters well, the second season explores the other planes of existence, specifically heaven, so each individual episode’s write-up should be shorter. Thanks again for reading, and let’s get back to the show.
Season 2, Episode 1, “Take the Angels Bowling”
“Take the Angels Bowling” introduces Fingers, an angel with a face inside its massive hand. When Fingers extends its body (a long arm stretching from heaven), it resembles Gord’s, the red-skinned demon, who looks like a worm. It’s like the two species (angels and demons) aren’t that different. Hmm.
Barney’s story takes a backseat in this episode, but we see some great moments with him and Logan. At the tail end of the last season, Logan and Barney share their first kiss. “Take the Angels Bowling” shows Logan’s patience with Barney. At this stage of Barney’s transition, he’s still unsure of himself, and I like how Logan gives him the space to be awkward. When someone transitions (even socially), it acts as a second puberty. Whether this was Dead End: Paranormal Park’s intention or not, this is great representation.
Season 2, Episode 2, “Evil Twins Are People Too”
“Evil Twins Are People Too” may prove my hunch correct. Barney’s misadventures with demons and evil twins are a metaphor for a trans person’s second puberty. Barney lets it slip that he loves Logan. This is a common television trope. Someone says “I Love You” first, and the other person doesn’t immediately say it afterwards. What makes Dead End: Paranormal Park’s take on this trope different is the added complication of the paranormal (or the fact that Barney is trans). By the end of this episode, Barney lays it out on the line, telling Logan he loves him again and admitting that life with him could get complicated.
Fortunately, Logan doesn’t mind the complication. He entered this relationship knowing that there could be uncommon issues, but Barney is his person. I love this. It proves that there’s someone for everyone, even a trans boy with an evil twin.
Season 2, Episode 3, “The Trials of Barney”
As the episode’s title implies, “The Trials of Barney” has a Barney-centric story. I like how this episode goes back into Barney’s childhood. Dead End: Paranormal Park does a great job of showing that Barney was always a boy. He’s always been into pro wrestling and created the moniker, B-Rex, because he likes dinosaurs. Initially, B-Rex is the wrestling name Barney uses when he joins the Demon Wrestling Federation. During the perfect moment, Barney embraces his inner heel and comes out as a human. He then becomes The Living Human.
Early on, Barney hides his human identity. He finds it easier to be a lizard boy (B-Rex) instead of a human boy. Throughout “The Trials of Barney,” Barney lives as his authentic gender, and when he reveals himself to be a human, he accepts the final part of himself. And the crowd loves him for it. This is another subtle point Dead End: Paranormal Park makes. Many trans people begin by showing parts of themselves to others, and some of those parts are their gender identity, while holding back other aspects of themselves to fit in. Sure, Barney was always treated as a boy in the demonic gym, but he needed to find himself as a human boy.
Transgender people aren’t a monolith. There’s no one way to be trans, and it’s up to each person to find what their gender identity means for them.
Season 2, Episode 4, “Eat the Parents”
“Eat the Parents” features Logan meeting Barney’s parents, so we get plenty of situational comedy sprinkled throughout this episode. Everyone puts on airs, especially Norma, as they try to impress Barney’s parents. The standout scene for Barney is the one where everyone eats the soup Courtney prepared from the mysterious book she found. This soup induces mind-reading, and when Barney takes a sip, he complains (in his head) that no one will be good enough for his parents.
This comment suggests that Barney had suitors before he came out to his parents. Or perhaps not. Either way, the demon behind the cursed soup is none other than the team-building guru from season one. Lovely callback. We find that despite his confident exterior, Logan is just as insecure as Barney, maybe even more so. I like that Barney isn’t the only one worried about this relationship.
Season 2, Episode 5, “The Ride of a Lifetime”
Hurt feelings and a lover’s spat abound in “The Ride of a Lifetime.” Barney misinterprets Logan texting Josh as the two of them dating, when it’s actually about Josh getting an acting role that Logan had also auditioned for. Pugsley spends the entire episode’s runtime trying to avoid calamity of all kinds, physical and emotional harm, but you can’t rewind time to execute the perfect world.
All of this is Fingers grooming Pugsley for Dead End: Paranormal Park’s season two finale. “The Ride of a Lifetime” doesn’t unearth anything new and exciting with Barney’s trans experience, but the show’s done a fantabulous job doing that throughout its run.
Season 2, Episode 6, “My Super Sweet 1600”
Barney doesn’t have much to do in “My Super Sweet 1600.” Fingers sends the gang to bust up a demon’s (Zagan’s) birthday party, but Barney ends up becoming the life of the party. What begins with Zagan trying to kill the humans (or at least maim them) becomes a love fest with the friends Barney made while he wrestled in the Demon Wrestling Federation. Even though this moment doesn’t progress the story, I love how it shows the demons accepting Barney for who he is, for all he is (including a Living Human). Not only do the demons accept Barney, but they also praise his differences. That’s great to see.
Season 2, Episode 7, “All Dolled Up”
Barney doesn’t make an appearance in “All Dolled Up.” Well, technically, he does show up at the very end, teasing the following episode. Even so, we see a lot of Barney through Logan, who encourages Norma to come out as bisexual to her mother. I love the representation of various gender identities and sexual orientations in Dead End: Paranormal Park.
Season 2, Episode 8, “The Other Side”
We find out what Barney and the rest of the gang were doing in the previous episode with “The Other Side.” Barney dies from a falling chandelier. The rest of the gang attempts to join Barney’s soul with his body. I love the Reverso-Romero Spell that naturally turns Barney’s corpse into a zombie. Barney runs into a few “friendly” ghosts. Basically, they’re trying to trick Barney into crossing over to the other side so they can hitch a ride. I like the pink-hued ghost Jules’ inclusion of their pronouns: they/them/and the late. Nice. Why couldn’t Netflix allow this for Courtney?
Speaking of Courtney, they’re involved in the funniest scene during this episode. Barney turns full ghost. No one can see him, so he writes on the wall with charcoal. Here’s a quick recreation:
Courtney: Barney, is that you?
Barney (writing in charcoal on the wall): Yes.
Courtney: You turned yourself into a piece of charcoal?
Barney: No.
Courtney: You turned Pugsley into a piece of charcoal?
Barney writes several paragraphs on the wall. Not one inch is left uncovered by charcoal. Courtney’s eyes widen. She gasps, and then says, “Barney…there’s no way I’m reading all of that.”
This scene had me rolling a year ago when I first watched Dead End: Paranormal Park, and I rewatched it multiple times during this rewatch. It’s so good. It’s official. Courtney is my spirit animal.
Anyway, “The Other Side” ends with Barney about to cross over, succumbing to the ghost “friends” negative self-talk. This is such a great representation of one’s battle with mental health, and according to Pugsley, this isn’t the first time Barney has felt this way. Barney’s found family (Pugsley, Logan, Badyah, and Norma) helps him through this rough patch and saves him from crossing over. I love found families in media. We all have found families. They’re our communities. They can be our significant other. Often, our found families know us better than our birth families.
“The Other Side” ends with Fingers revealing his dastardly plan. Fingers, the angel, was the one who dropped the chandelier on Barney. Since he gives Pugsley the power to save Barney, Pugsley willingly goes to heaven. We’re on our way to heaven, floor 4.
Season 2, Episode 9, “Going Up”
Barney’s story in “Going Up” centers on rescuing Pugsley, so we get little trans representation in this episode. Or do we? We’ll discuss how Courtney’s story plays into Dead End: Paranormal Park’s greater trans narrative in a minute, but first, let’s discuss some quick Barney points. That almost sounds like brownie points. Tee hee! Asmodeus (Barney’s wrestling sparring partner) in any episode offers great acceptance for Barney’s identity. Those two have a wonderful bromance. You love to see it.
Before we get into Courtney’s story, I’ll begin by citing a spoiler warning. There’s little chance for us to discuss “Going Up” and Courtney’s part of the story without major spoilers. You’ve been warned. Courtney learns they’re a fallen angel. Their “horns” are a broken halo, and they’re doomed to prune the universe’s timeline of all “unwanted” branches. While bleak, this storyline profoundly plays into Dead End: Paranormal Park’s main characters. Fallen angels (angels whose halos are broken) no longer fit what it means to be an angel, so Courtney has more in common with Barney than they may have first thought.
As a trans person, Barney doesn’t fit in with cispeople. The same can be said of Norma as well, but we’ll go more into her side with the autism representation post, but Courtney’s subjugation in heaven rings true for a lot of trans people. Courtney isn’t allowed to be Courtney. Their personality–or any personality–runs counter to what the heavenly society accepts. One could rewatch Dead End: Paranormal Park multiple times and find new angles. This is the mark of a great show.
One more major spoiler: Pugsley becomes The Watcher. The Watcher is the all-powerful heavenly sorcerer who serves as watchdog for anyone who steps out of line. There’s so much to unpack here. The onion-head mask Pugsley wears to become The Watcher takes away his identity. It functions similarly to conversion therapy. The Pugsley who wears The Watcher’s mask must conform. Dead End: Paranormal Park may be geared for kids, but it has many layers.
Season 2, Episode 10, “The Watcher’s Test”
“The Watcher’s Test” does for Pugsley what “Going Up” did for Courtney. Barney and Norma’s journey can be seen through Pugsley’s. Since this is our transgender representation post, we’ll focus on how Pugsley’s journey mirrors Barney’s. Again, we’ll be going through some major spoilers, but if you’ve made it this far, spoilers won’t be that big of an issue.
First, Pugsley is Barney’s dog, so a direct link exists between these two characters. Second, Pugsley has been told by heaven (not sure if the character commanding Fingers is God, but they’re certainly from heaven) that he must fight demons at all costs, and that’s what happens. Pugsley, as The Watcher, has destroyed the Earth. Evidently, Earth ceasing to exist is better than a single demon out of place, and a demon’s place is in prison. This extremist, black-and-white thinking has been used against trans people. Someone living outside the gender binary embraces the gray, and ironically, Netflix chose to stick Courtney inside the gender binary. You don’t need the creators to tell you this was not their decision; Courtney’s new pronouns go against the show’s message.
I loved “The Watcher’s Test” callbacks to previous episodes. In fact, Dead End: Paranormal Park did a better job of weaving in these callbacks than the MCU with Avengers: Endgame. Time travel mayhem occurs during this episode, and Dead End: Paranormal Park drops Barney into the perfect scenes where he could’ve attempted to persuade Pugsley not to become The Watcher. Fight heaven’s grooming. But my favorite must be the scene that wasn’t altered. Eagle-eyed viewers may figure that something was different about Barney during an earlier episode. I won’t spoil it here, but if you’ve seen “The Watcher’s Test,” watching this same scene through a new lens is chef’s kiss superb.
Random Thought: The dedication to Leon Fechner (one of the show’s animators) during Dead End: Paranormal Park’s closing credits is touching. We leave season two with Pugsley wandering a plane that isn’t heaven, hell, or Earth. This pays homage to Fechner, who had slipped into a coma and died before the show was completed. Rest in peace, Leon Fechner.
Closing Thoughts
Yowza! This was long. It’s even longer if you read the companion piece, Dead End: Paranormal Park’s Autism Representation. While this show’s geared toward children, Dead End: Paranormal Park does a stellar job with transgender representation. Barney Guttman tops many lists of great trans characters. The show presents Barney as a complicated character. He isn’t always in the right, but his heart is usually in the right place. I love Dead End: Paranormal Park’s intersectionality. Each character is thoughtfully layered.
If you have any other movies or television shows that depict transgender people that you’d like us to cover, let us know in the comments. If you’ve made it this far, you’re amazing. We all know it. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Geekly started a new deep dive series about Autism Representation in media. Our first post in that series was about Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory, and it was posted in May. Was it that long ago? Yikes! Well, Geekly’s back with another deep dive about Autism Representation. Today’s piece of media is the short-lived Netflix animated series, Dead End: Paranormal Park.
Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. As I mentioned in our previous Autism Representation post, I’m a late-diagnosed autistic person and ADHDer. Yes, you can have both. Ever since my diagnosis, I’ve been viewing media through a different lens, trying to see if a piece of media has good or not-so-good Autism Representation. I intended this series to be something Geekly released once a quarter. We’re getting this post right under the wire with Dead End: Paranormal Park because this series not only has an Autistic main character, but the other main character is transgender. I also happen to be trans and gender queer and intended to give Transgender Representation in media the same treatment. So today, we’re releasing two posts about Dead End: Paranormal Park.
Since Dead End: Paranormal Park only lasted two seasons (for a total of 20, 20-minute episodes), we’ll go through each pertinent episode in sequential order for both characters. Our subject for this post is Norma Khan, a 17-year-old bisexual and autistic Pakistani-American girl who gets a job at the park because of her adoration of the films made by character Pauline Phoenix. Already, I love Norma’s intersectionality. Let’s get started with Dead End: Paranormal Park’s first episode, “The Job.”
Season 1, Episode 1, “The Job”
We first meet Norma Khan in her room, decked out in Pauline Phoenix (the actress behind Phoenix, “Paranormal,” Park) paraphernalia: Pauline posters, Pauline bedsheets, and even a Pauline lamp. Norma has an episode of Dead End (one of Pauline Phoenix’s television shows) playing as she prepares for a job interview at Phoenix Park. Something tells me Norma listens to this show on repeat often. I’ve done the same. I may have audio taped cartoons (on cassette tapes) so I could play them at night to fall asleep. I’m sure Norma wouldn’t do anything like that. Wink.
Norma’s mother dotes on her. She worries more about Norma’s job interview than Norma does. She hugs and kisses Norma as Norma tries to break away. I can relate. We know little about Norma, but Dead End: Paranormal Park hints that Norma’s mother may want more affection than Norma is comfortable giving. This is in keeping with some autistic kids. This moment also suggests that Norma’s job interview may be her first time alone; it’s certainly her first step as an adult. Autistic people do tend to have a higher unemployment rate than the general population, and often, this is less about capability and more about finding the right work environment. It sounds like Phoenix (Paranormal) Park is Norma’s perfect job environment.
“The Job” sprinkles in some references to Norma’s hyper-fixations. In fact, when she believes she didn’t get the job at first, Norma flat out says, “Looks like I’ll have to find something else to hyper-fixate on for fifteen years.” Norma earns this line because she spews paragraphs of Pauline Phoenix facts while Norma and Barney are trapped in a haunted mansion. Only Norma doesn’t yet realize the two of them are trapped. She’s too busy info-dumping on Barney about her special interest. I watched this episode with one of my daughters, and she chuckled. You’re not like that at all, are you, Mapa? Yep. That happens sometimes. The train needs to reach the station before we can switch tracks.
Season 1, Episode 2, “The Tunnel”
“The Tunnel” begins with a Norma flashback. She’s a child attending Phoenix Parks and in line to visit Buster Scruffs (one of the employees dressed as a mascot). Norma panics. Her feet sink into the concrete. While I’m unsure if this sequence is directly tied to an autistic shutdown (where an autistic person retreats from their surroundings) or if this scene is just a child reacting to too much stimuli (which can cause autistic shutdowns), Dead End: Paranormal Park does a fantastic job of showing Norma’s internal world.
When we shift to the present day, Norma storms into the haunted mansion. She doesn’t care that Pugsley can talk (a side effect of his former demonic possession) and is livid that Barney clocked into work before her. The group brushes past Barney, staying the night at the park, and promptly finds a gold pass. I love how she prefers to go to the park’s staff meeting when presented with the option to do anything in the park. Dead End: Paranormal Park drops another line of Norma obsessed with Pauline Phoenix, before she wishes for the three-hour version of employee orientation. I can attest that I could withstand a three-hour orientation on my special interest. This tracks for an autistic person.
What also tracks for autistic people is Norma’s odd eye contact. When Badyah Hassan (leader of the staff orientation) begins orientation, Norma info dumps and gives Badyah intense eye contact. Norma bores a hole into Badyah. That made me laugh. It’s so accurate. Many people believe that autistic people can’t make eye contact, when it’s just as likely that autistic people will make intense eye contact. In short, autism leads to odd levels of eye contact: none or too much. And of course, Norma takes over the orientation after Badyah sarcastically asks if she wants to do so. Norma puts on a performance voice (another autistic thing to do), and I felt called out. Both of my daughters recounted a similar instance with me at a board game cafe.
Season 1, Episode 3, “Trust Me”
“Trust Me” centers around a team-building exercise at the beach. Norma is reluctant to leave her mother’s car because she believes everyone at work hates her, while Norma’s mother counters with no one knows you. This is a great representation of an autistic side-effect, rejection sensitivity. Rejection sensitivity may occur when an autistic person has experienced so many instances where they said or did the wrong thing, or they just acted like themselves (and not like a neurotypical or person without autism), and got rejected, so the autistic person believes people hate them even when there’s empirical evidence to the contrary. I’ve received a pep talk from a loved one like the one Norma gets so many times, I’ve lost count. I love that Dead End: Paranormal Park touched on this subject.
Before “Trust Me’s” volta (the turn), we get a lot of Norma being literal. The team-building guru speaks in metaphors, and each flies over Norma’s head. Physical things don’t bind us. Yes, they can. The opposite of trust is fear. No, the opposite of trust is mistrust. I agree with Norma on that last one. Autistic people can be very literal. I got diagnosed with autism after my younger daughter was diagnosed (autism is hereditary), and my daughter would always answer with specific times whenever someone asked what time it was. For instance, it’s 4:18, instead of 4:15 or 4:20. We didn’t know when she was younger, but that’s an autistic trait. I still agree with Norma that the opposite of trust is definitely mistrust.
And I like how Dead End: Paranormal Park mixes up Norma’s affect. When she says, the opposite of trust is definitely mistrust, her voice is flat. Other times, she’s very expressive, overly so. Excellent! The montage of Norma screwing up every trust-building exercise is also excellent. Her forward trust fall had me in stitches.
This next bit ventures into spoiler territory, but who are kidding? We’ve already shared some spoilers. The team-building guru is a fear demon in disguise, and he intends to feed on the gang’s fear. While everyone else enters a nightmare realm where their greatest fears come to life, Norma’s fear world is the real world. She worries about every interaction with people. She relives every social misstep. Eventually, Norma’s rejection sensitivity overwhelms the fear demon. I love how the animation style changes when we fully enter Norma’s perspective. It’s another subtle way Dead End: Paranormal Park portrays autism. The Norma we see in the picture above may be closer to how she views the world.
And that’s how autism works. It’s another way of viewing the world. Neurodivergent brains process things differently from neurotypical brains. This is another excellent example of autism representation. This may dovetail into Norma calling her coworkers by the attractions they monitor at the park. I like how most people take offense, but Badyah leans into her nickname death slide. Badyah’s the one who sits beside Norma on the beach and comforts her; Norma may have found a kindred spirit.
Season 1, Episode 4, “Night of the Living Kids”
“Night of the Living Kids” is more of a Barney episode. We get our first look at Patrick, Barney’s younger brother, who’s having an overnight birthday party at the park. Patrick plays Pin the Tail on the Dinosaur, and when Barney recognizes him, he takes cover. After Barney says that Patrick can’t see him, Norma doesn’t get the context and replies that he has the blindfold off now, so he can see Barney. Classic Norma.
And in classic Norma fashion, she finds the one kid at the party who’s as obsessed as she is about Pauline Phoenix. Vince even outbid Norma for Pauline memorabilia on an online auction. Norma finally has someone else she can talk to about her special interest. As Norma says, Finally, an intelligent conversation. The two’s conversation sets up the mystery of Barbora (not Barbera), Pauline’s angry and athletic stunt double. The two’s convo gets interrupted by children who lost all the sleep they ever slept, hence the episode’s name “Night of the Living Kids.”
Season 1, Episode 5, “The Nightmare Before Christmas in July”
“The Nightmare Before Christmas in July” takes a break from Barney and Norma and focuses more on their demon friend, Courtney. Courtney is stuck in the mortal realm, so Barney and Norma go on a devilish game show to snag them (Courtney) a ticket home. Note: I’ll mention this in the transgender representation companion post to this one, but the demon Courtney is non-binary/gender queer in the comics, but Netflix changed their pronouns from they/them to she/her; I’ll use Courtney’s preferred pronouns of they/them.
Even though “The Nightmare Before Christmas in July” is predominantly a Courtney episode, we get a classic Norma moment during the game show. When the demon host says the next leg is a “lightning round,” Norma shouts, Trivia. Nope. Not trivia, Norma. Actual lightning.
Season 1, Episode 6, “Wait Time: 22 Minutes”
“Wait Time: 22 Minutes” gets its title from the line for the newly opened Dr. Love Ride at the park. The Dr. Love Ride has been closed since before Norma was born, and naturally, she wants to experience the ride before spoilers flood her timeline. This is in keeping with everything we’ve learned about Norma. She and Barney get separated in the line because Norma takes the employee express lane, while Barney stays in the main line with Logan, who wants to make sure the wait time sign of 20 minutes is correct. Since Barney has a crush on Logan, he texts Norma incessantly.
In classic Norma fashion, she doesn’t get why Barney is freaking out, but it’s what she says that rings true for an autistic person. Barney’s in a line with Logs, so the danger seems minimal. Lol. Often, autistic people can brave large crowds if they have at least one person they know well. Norma doesn’t get Barney’s dread because she views Logan as a safe person to brave Dr. Love’s long line. Pugsley has to spell out the awkward social implications for Norma. I love this. I wouldn’t have been able to attend Pride if I hadn’t gone with some of my safe people. And I might’ve missed the social cues of Barney’s crush on Logan.
I also love Norma’s line to Barney. I’m the socially awkward one. Stop stealing my thing. The rest of the episode’s runtime, in reality, revolves around Norma, Courtney, and Pugsley possessing Barney and taking turns trying to woo Logan. Norma asks standard questions and gets frustrated when Logan answers them out of order. He needs to answer the questions in the order they were asked. I could see an autistic person getting frustrated by this, and the lesbian couple standing by Barney (possessed by Norma) bemoan that kids these days are too literal. Yeah. That tracks for an autistic person.
Throughout the body-swapping antics, Norma remains on task. What starts as helping Barney with Logan turns into saving Barney from the in-between, a place where possessed souls go. “Wait Time: 22 Minutes” ends with Norma finally getting on the Dr. Love Ride. She begins info-dumping to Logan as the ride begins, only to have the ride shut down as she’s about to enter. Awesome!
Season 1, Episode 7, “Norma Khan: Paranormal Detective”
The title “Norma Khan: Paranormal Detective” is a bit of a misnomer. At first, Norma takes the role too seriously. Norma’s covert scene with Vince (nice call back) is over-the-top, leading Badyah to say that the two of them are more suspicious than if they faced each other. Note: Norma and Vince sit on with their backs to each other, and Vince struggles to give Norma the magazine featuring Barbora that he mentioned during “Night of the Living Kids.”
Norma is blinded by her obsession with Pauline Phoenix that she ignores all the evidence that clearly paints Pauline as the one behind the missing Pauline impersonators. Tunnel vision can occur for autistic people. I’ve been blinded by my special interests. While this tracks for an autistic person, Badyah proves to be the better “paranormal detective.” I love Norma’s detailed evidence board. The picture above is a zoomed-in segment of that board. Trust me, Norma goes into excruciating detail, making her an autistic queen.
Norma refuses to view Pauline as a threat even at the end of “Norma Khan: Paranormal Detective.” It takes Pauline Phoenix’s ghost charging at Norma before she jumps into a haunted television screen. I’m sure this will end well.
Season 1, Episode 8, “The Pauline Phoenix Experience”
“The Pauline Phoenix Experience” casts the gang in Pauline’s former roles. That’s why we get that awesome black and white picture above. Even though this episode does a lot of heavy lifting for the Dead End: Paranormal Park’s main storyline, it does reveal the depths of Norma’s Pauline Phoenix fandom. She figures out they’re in Pauline’s movies/TV shows before Barney, but plays along because it’s her dream come true. She knows the lines. She’s probably heard them millions of times and this is her time to shine.
Norma goes as far as trying to “kill” Barney because her character tries to do so in the films. Talk about commitment. But she breaks when she comes to terms that Pauline was using her and all her fans. Autistic people tend to have strong moral compasses that can be obscured through the lens of fandom. By the end of this episode, Norma breaks down, but after she mourns the loss of her idol, she’s ready to exact change.
Season 1, Episode 9, “The Phantom of the Theme Park”
Dead End: Paranormal Park is a queer version of Scooby Doo. The park is based on a drag queen. It was only a matter of time before we got a musical episode. “The Phantom of the Theme Park” takes inspiration from several musicals, but its main influence, naturally, is The Phantom of the Opera. I love this episode. The music is spot on, and the musical does a great job of forwarding the action to season one’s conclusion. While “The Phantoms of the Theme Park” doesn’t show new aspects of Norma’s for us to discuss at length, it follows through on Norma’s strong moral compass.
She sacrifices herself to be Pauline Phoenix’s new vessel and hatches a plan to end the park’s suffering. Even though the plan doesn’t go as planned, Pauline is banished, but now we have the return of Temeluchus. Uh oh!
Season 1, Episode 10, “Into the Fire”
I’ll level with you. I can’t believe I’ve gone this far without mentioning Norma’s odd speech patterns. I grew up in the South and don’t sound like it. Sure, some of this is due to my moving away from the South, but not entirely. Even while I was living in the South, folks wondered if I had a foreign accent. Norma’s odd speech pattern is spot on.
Norma takes charge during the demon invasion. She reverts to calling park employees by the attractions they monitor. Death Slide and Norma to the rescue. Demon lords Zagan and Temeluchus battle for surface world supremacy. Demonic fun ensues, but everything turns out okay in the end. The demons leave. The humans are no longer turned to stone. After Phoenix Parks returns to normal (relatively speaking), the crew discusses what to do next, unaware of someone watching them. It’s a citizen of heaven.
But that will wait until season two.
Quick Break and Thank You
Thank you for reading up to this point. You’re amazing. Since the Dead End: Paranormal Park’s first season set up its characters well, the second season explores the other planes of existence, specifically heaven, so each individual episode’s write-up should be shorter. Thanks again for reading, and let’s get back to the show.
Season 2, Episode 1, “Take the Angels Bowling”
“Take the Angels Bowling” gives us our first full look at an angel, Fingers, who is a massive hand with a face in its palm. When Fingers extends its body (a long arm stretching from heaven), it resembles Gord’s, the red-skinned demon, who looks like a worm. Coincidence?
Most of “Take the Angels Bowling” sets up the impending denizens of heaven descending on Phoenix Parks, but there are a few wonderful Norma moments. Her friend Badyah knows Norma wouldn’t want to wear used bowling shoes, so she bought her a fresh pair. That’s thoughtful. Judging from the smell and look of the loaner bowler shoes, that’s a good call by Badyah. Norma and Badyah have started a podcast about ghosts and demons. Very on brand. Norma’s more interested in setting up a podcast schedule than bowling. Also on brand. And when Badyah info dumps about the finer points of bowling, Norma asks if that’s what she sounds like to Badyah. Awesome!
Season 2, Episode 2, “Evil Twins Are People Too”
“Evil Twins Are People Too” steers into the television trope of a character having an evil twin. Barney and Norma’s twins are the worst parts of themselves, but this becomes a blessing for Norma. She fears that Badyah isn’t as into their podcast or at least as into demons as her, which is true, but after an unpleasant exchange with evil Norma, Badyah tells Norma that she does the podcast to spend time with her. Norma makes the mistake of tying her relationship (spoiler: Norma is crushing on Badyah) with Badyah’s liking or disliking her special interest. This is fantastic.
Honestly, I’ve done the same at times. Because an autistic person views their special interest as an intimate part of them, they can tie relationships (or a relationship’s depth) to these interests. I even like how long it takes Norma to realize she has feelings for Badyah. There’s a reason I often talk things out to myself. I love this inclusion.
Quick Point: Badyah mentions that Norma does all the demon sounds during their podcast. This is most likely an example of echolalia, the repetition of phrases or noises that autistic people can make. I would guess that Norma makes these noises outside the podcast.
Season 2, Episode 3, “The Trials of Barney”
“The Trials of Barney” puts Norma’s story on the back burner. Secretly, Barney joins a demonic gym and trains to become a pro wrestler in the demon league. Barney proves to be one heck of a heel, earning the respect of most demons at the arena, especially his opponent, Asmodeus. Near the end of the episode, Badyah compliments Barney and then asks if he’ll be on hers and Norma’s podcast, proving that Badyah supports Norma’s special interest (demonology) and finds some enjoyment from it. Personally, I’ve found this to be the case. One’s loved ones can’t go long hearing someone enthuse about a topic without getting invested.
Random Note: The rock song (“Fight Like a Demon Boy”) that plays during Barney’s training montage slaps.
Season 2, Episode 4, “Eat the Parents”
“Eat the Parents” features Logan meeting Barney’s parents. For this reason, Norma doesn’t feature as prominently, but we get another round of her using a hilarious, ornate voice. Maître de Norma is so over-the-top it makes Barney question what’s wrong with her. This is so on point for many autistic people. You either get zero inflection or all the inflection in the world. I also like that Norma’s dream dinner guest is what she thinks is an adorable spider skull demon. To each their own, I guess, but this shows the depths of Norma’s special interest.
And clearly, romantic comedies were an obsession for Norma at some point. She goes full army general while discussing how crucial meeting one’s parents during a Rom-Com plotline is. I love how “Get Married” goes straight to “Buy Matching Coffins” on the timeline. Norma has watched enough Rom-Coms to know that all of them end after the couple gets married.
Season 2, Episode 5, “The Ride of a Lifetime”
Hurt feelings and a lover’s spat abound in “The Ride of a Lifetime.” Norma plans to tell Badyah how she feels about her, and Pugsley sees the conversation is not going well. Pugsley spends the entire episode’s runtime trying to avoid calamity of all kinds, physical and emotional harm, but you can’t rewind time to execute the perfect world. While this episode focuses on Norma’s love life, it still manages a callback to Norma knowing how long the Ferris wheel ride lasts. Excellent!
Badyah thinks Norma wants to cut her from the podcast, so she tries to prevent Norma from talking. Badyah doesn’t know what to think when Norma tells her that she “like-likes her.” I love how Dead End: Paranormal Park handles this scene. Badyah says she thinks she’s straight, but she doesn’t think about it too much. The showrunners have said that Badyah could be queer, but she comes out in a different way. I could also see Badyah as aroace (aromantic and asexual, where you don’t tend to have a lot of romantic feelings or sexual attraction). I would’ve loved to see where Dead End: Paranormal Park chose to take Badyah’s character.
Season 2, Episode 6, “My Super Sweet 1600”
Norma spends most of “My Super Sweet 1600’s” runtime avoiding Badyah, and she doesn’t attempt to hide her Badyah aversion. This tracks for an autistic person. Many of us, including me, have a difficult time masking irritation. I love how even when Norma attempts to “act normal,” her eyes narrow to pinpricks, and it gives away her emotions.
Badyah tries to smooth things over (from her rejecting Norma’s romantic advances) by hooking up Norma and the Gazan, the demon/vampire, celebrating her Super Sweet 1600 birthday. Gazan and Norma strike a friendship, and their heart-to-heart talk helps Norma see what she needs: space. “My Super Sweet 1600” ends with Norma quitting her job at Phoenix Parks. Gasp!
Season 2, Episode 7, “All Dolled Up”
Dead End: Paranormal Park does a great job of showing many ways a person can come out (with their gender identity and/or sexual orientation) and the responses that may occur when one does. More on that in a minute, but we’re talking Norma’s autism representation right now. “All Dolled Up” gives us a window into Norma’s childhood. We spend more time in her childhood home, see that she’s taken down all her Pauline Phoenix paraphernalia, but her mom clings to the Norma she used to know, the Norma whose dream job is Phoenix Parks, and she quit.
Norma’s mom cooks Pauline pancakes. This was one of Norma’s safe foods, as she ate it every morning growing up. This is definitely an autistic thing. Even as an adult, I still have safe foods, foods I know I can turn to for their texture, flavor, or even lack of flavor. My daughter, whose autism diagnosis led to my late diagnosis, ate chicken tenders/nuggets for every meal she could. I chuckled when Norma switched from pancakes to chicken tenders. Excellent.
By this point, Norma’s personality is set. Her status as an autistic queen is secure. “All Dolled Up” gives us the revelation that Norma is bisexual. I’ve said it before, but I love Dead End: Paranormal Park’s intersectionality. Norma’s scene where she comes out to her mom is heartwarming. It differs from Barney’s, and that’s the point. This show does what it can to show the spectrum of outcomes of coming out to one’s parents. We even learn that confident Logan is not yet out to his parents.
Season 2, Episode 8, “The Other Side”
“The Other Side” shows what Barney and the rest were doing during Norma’s doll infestation from the previous episode. Norma shows up at the end, making amends with Badyah. The two are friends, but Norma needs space. Fair.
This episode sets up the main conflict for Dead End: Paranormal Park’s second season. We’re headed to heaven, floor four.
Season 2, Episode 9, “Going Up”
Before we get into spoilers–there’s little chance I can cover “Going Up” without revealing some plot points–let’s discuss some quick Normaisms. Norma already has hers and Badyah’s next four hangouts and topics of conversation scheduled in her diary. While I don’t plan my days in this much detail or that far in advance, I am writing this deep dive in June, and it’s scheduled for mid-September. Yikes! Maybe I do plan that far in advance. Autistic people do like a regimen. I also like Norma’s wonder at heaven when she first arrives. As she says, I’ve spent so much time studying demons; I didn’t think about what was going on up here. Again, tunnel vision. I wouldn’t have Norma any other way.
Now, we get into spoilers for a show that’s been around for three years. You’ve been warned. Courtney learns they’re a fallen angel. Their “horns” are a broken halo, and they’re doomed to prune the universe’s timeline of all “unwanted” branches. While bleak in nature, this plot point metaphorically plays into Dead End: Paranormal Park’s main characters in profound ways. Fallen angels (angels whose halos are broken) no longer fit what it means to be an angel, so Courtney has more in common with Norma than they may have first thought. As an autistic person, Norma doesn’t fit in with neurotypical people. We’ll go more into the Barney side with the trans representation post, but Courtney’s subjugation in heaven rings true for a lot of autistic people.
Courtney isn’t allowed to be Courtney. Their personality–or any personality–runs counter to what the heavenly society can accept. There’s a lot to unpack with heaven’s insistence that everyone must conform and follow preconceived notions. One could rewatch Dead End: Paranormal Park multiple times and find new angles. This is the mark of a great show. One final point: I love how Barney asks if he can hug Norma at the end of this episode. Barney shows Norma respect with this question; Norma doesn’t always like human contact. I’m with you, sister.
One more major spoiler: Pugsley becomes The Watcher. The Watcher is the all-powerful heavenly sorcerer who serves as watchdog for anyone who steps out of line. Pugsley loses himself behind this onion-head mask. I don’t know if this was the intent, but Pugsley is literally masking. Masking for autistic people is when one attempts to look less neurodivergent. Dead End: Paranormal Park may be geared for kids, but it has many layers.
Season 2, Episode 10, “The Watcher’s Test”
“The Watcher’s Test” does for Pugsley what “Going Up” did for Courtney. Barney and Norma’s journey can be seen through Pugsley’s. Since this is our autism representation post, we’ll focus on how Pugsley’s journey mirrors Norma’s. Again, we’ll be going through some major spoilers, but if you’ve made it this far, spoilers won’t be that big of an issue.
Heaven (not sure if the character commanding Fingers is God, but they’re certainly from heaven) commands Pugsley to become The Watcher. Heaven insists there is no other way of thinking. Any other ways of thinking are incorrect, and that’s where Pugsley’s internal battle with Fingers’ programming mirrors autism. Most of the world runs on the neurotypical’s (someone who isn’t autistic) way of thinking, hence the term, neurotypical. Pugsley doesn’t think in the same way as Fingers and their boss (or bosses). Instead of allowing Pugsley’s different way of viewing the world, heaven forcefully changes his mind.
Furthermore, Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy, a therapy often used to change autistic people’s behavior, can be compared to animal (or dog) training. I don’t know if a link with Pugsley and his heavenly training (as a metaphor for ABA therapy) was Dead End: Paranormal Park’s intention, but if it was, that’s brilliant. Even if that wasn’t the show’s intent, the world’s a better place when Pugsley’s allowed to be Pugsley, and our world could be better if accommodations were made available for autistic people instead of forcing autistic people into boxes–or onion-shaped masks.
Random Thought: The dedication to Leon Fechner (one of the show’s animators) during Dead End: Paranormal Park’s closing credits is touching. We leave season two with Pugsley wandering a plane that isn’t heaven, hell, or Earth. This pays homage to Fechner, who had slipped into a coma and died before the show was completed. Rest in peace, Leon Fechner.
Closing Thoughts
Phew! This was long. It’s even longer if you read the companion piece, Dead End: Paranormal Park’s Transgender Representation. While this show’s geared toward children, Dead End: Paranormal Park does a stellar job with autism representation. I’m not the first to cite Norma Khan as one of the best autistic characters. The show handles Norma’s autism with grace and style. I love Dead End: Paranormal Park’s intersectionality. Each character is thoughtfully layered.
If you have any other movies or television shows that depict autism that you’d like us to cover, let us know in the comments. If you’ve made it this far, you’re amazing. We all know it. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
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